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Gustavus Adolphus. 



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GUSTAVUS ADOLPHTJS; 



THE 



HEEO OF THE EEFOEMATION. 

L. A B E L O U S. 

By Mrs. C. A. L A C R O I X. 



"^TW^ EILILWi'S'iaA^EOS^S 







New York : j^y i 

CARLTON & LANAHAK 

SAN FRANCISCO: E. THOMAS. 
CINCINNATI: HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 

S U N D A Y-S CHOOL DEPARTMENT. 



. M } u- 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

CARLTON & LANAHAN, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 







l>u 



CHAPTER I. 

CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

His Origin — His Education — His Disposition Page "7 



CHAPTER II. 

REIGN OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

His Valor — His domestic Virtues — His Piety . 



27 



CHAPTER III. 

THE THIRTY YEARS' "WAR. 

Its Beginnings — Intervention of Gustavus Adolplms — His 

Departure 46 

CHAPTER IV. 

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS IN GERMANY. 

His Difficulties — Siege of Magdeburg — Battle of Leipsic. . 11 



CHAPTER V. 

His sojourn at Frankfort — His entrance into Nuremberg — 

Battle of the Lech Ill 



6 Contents. 

chapter vi. 

LAST CAMPAIGNS OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

Siege of Ingolstadt — Conquest of Bavaria — Expedition of "Wal- 
lenstein against Nuremberg Page 138 

CHAPTER YIL 

THE CLOSE OP THE LIFE OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

Return of the Swedes into Saxony — Victory and Death of G-us- 
tavus Adolphus at Lutzeu — His Administration in Sweden 161 



^llnBixnixanB. 



GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 2 

GusTAVus Found Studying the Bible 38 

GusTAVus Addkessing his Troops 104 

GusTAVus Taking Leave op his Queen 166 

GusTAVus ON the Battle-Field of Lutzen 175 



GTJSTAYUS ADOLPHUS. 



CHAPTEE L 

CHILDHOOD OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 

His origin — His education— His disposition. 

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS is one of 
the grandest characters of modern 
history, and one of the purest of the Ref- 
ormation. He was, at the same time, an 
excellent king, a famous general, and a 
model Christian. His early death, and 
the importance of the events in which he 
was the main actor, add increased luster 
to his genius and virtues. He displayed a 
rare example of faithfnl and consistent 
piety, in a position in which the soul 



8 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

stands in even more dangers than tlie body. 
He proved that genuine Christianity may 
join faith to courage; and, with Coligny, 
Duquesne, Havelock, and others, he showed 
what power a religion may have which is 
drawn directly from the divine sources of 
the Bible. 

Grustavus Adolphus was born at Stock- 
holm, Dec. 9, 1594, and his cradle, so to 
speak, was rocked in the midst of national 
commotions. By his father, Charles, Duke 
of Sundermania, he belonged to the royal 
family of Sweden; and by his mother, 
Christina, daughter of the Duke of Schles- 
wig-Holstein, he was allied to the Danish 
dynasty. The prestige, however, of such 
an origin did not secure to him rest and 
security. His childhood, like his man- 
hood, was full of agitation. 

At the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
tury Sweden was an elective kingdom. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 9 

Christian 11. governed it, and, as the in- 
heritor also of the thrones of Denmark and 
Norway, he wore a triple crown. Sweden 
submitted to, rather than chose, this vio- 
lent and crafty monarch, who, in order to 
establish his power, continually multiplied 
confiscations and punishments. The son 
of a Swedish senator, a victim of this san- 
guinary ruler, (Gustavus Johannson, of 
the house of Vasa, one of the first of the 
Swedish nobility,) escaped from a prison 
in Jutland, in which he was detained by a 
Danish lord, under the order of Christian, 
This young man conceived the bold plan 
of delivering his country from the yoke of 
tyranny under which it was groaning. 
After having evaded all search of his op- 
pressors, and resigned himself to the hum- 
ble occupation of a thresher, he succeeded 
in exciting to revolt the peasantiy of Dal- 
matia, whither he had fled, and, with the 



10 GusTAvus Adolphtjs. 

aid of these rude and brave mountaineers, 
lie drove the Danes from Sweden and re- 
stored its freedom. Chosen king by his 
grateful country, Gustavns Vasa, who had 
formerly been under the instruction of one 
of Luther's pupils, instituted reforms in 
all his States. "To serve God by being 
obedient to his law, and by loving him 
above all else; to believe in Jesus Christ 
as our only Saviour; to study and teach 
the word of God with zeal; to love our 
neighbor as ourself, and to observe the Ten 
Commandments — such is the true worship 
that we should render unto God; these 
are our good works, and God has com- 
manded no others. The Holy Scriptures 
do not require wax tapers, nor palms, nor 
mass, for the redemption of souls, nor does 
it demand the worship of saints. God has 
even forbidden such things. He has giv- 
en us the sacrament as a symbol of the 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 11 

remission of sins, but not that it should 
be framed in gold and silver and paraded 
around grave-yards or elsewhere." Such 
was the profession of faith made by Gus- 
tavus Vasa and adopted by all his subjects. 

Gustavus Vasa abdicated in favor of his 
son, in order to consecrate himself more 
fully to the interests of his soul and to 
prepare for death, whose near approach 
was foretold by his failing health. Short- 
ly after, he died, regretted by a grateful 
people, and leaving his country happy and 
prosperous. 

His son, Eric, inherited his power but 
not his virtues. Subject to frequent ex- 
cesses of folly and frenzy, he was, by turns, 
whimsical and cruel; demanding in mar- 
riage, successively, Elizabeth Queen of 
England, Mary Stuart, the Princess Ke- 
nee de Lorraine, Christina of Hesse, and 
finally finishing by marrying the daughter 



12 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

of a peasant; at one time poignarding, 
with the sang-froid of a barbarian, for 
merely imaginary reasons, one of Sweden's 
noblest sons, Nickolas Sture ; then, after a 
few days, shedding bitter tears of remorse, 
and refusing all nourishment. These men- 
tal excesses, joined to other ruinous ex- 
travagances, soon caused his fall. He was 
declared incapable of reigning, and con- 
demned to a captivity which shortened his 
life. His children were not permitted to 
succeed him, and John, his brother, as- 
cended the throne. But, influenced by his 
wife, Catharine, daughter of Sigismond, 
King of Poland, he brought the Jesuits 
into his kingdom, and labored for the 
restoration of the Romish Church there. 
The people, outraged by this betrayal, 
withdrew from him their sympathy and 
confidence. Duke Charles, his brother, who 
showed himself in all things worthy of 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 13 

Gustavus Vasa, soon won all hearts to 
him. 

At John's death, the States, jealous of 
the rights and faith of the kingdom, ex- 
acted of his son Sigismond, brought up in 
Poland in the Catholic faith of his mother, 
a decree interdicting every other religion 
but the Lutheran. Under the pressure of 
these energetic measm^es the new King 
pledged himself. But when in power, he 
soon violated his promise, and gave orders 
to build a Catholic church in every city 
of the kingdom. To render his perjury 
still more flagrant, he refused to be crowned 
by a Protestant prelate, and gave this 
honor to the Nuncio of the Pope. The 
whole of Sweden protested against such 
audacity joined with so much perfidy. 
Surrounded by Poles and Jesuits, Sigis- 
mond shocked, at once, both the national 
and religious sentiments of his people. In 



14 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Stockholm there were frequent bloody 
riots between citizens and foreigners. 

In the midst of these troubles Sigis- 
mond was called to Poland, of which he 
was also king. He left Sweden in obe- 
dience to this call and never returned. 
Charles, yielding to the wishes of the 
States, and silencing his scruples, in view 
of the interests of his fellow-citizens and 
of the threatened Protestant worship, ac- 
cepted the regency of the kingdom amid 
the applause of the people, whose friend 
and hope he had long been. The Augs- 
burg Confession was again proclaimed, and 
every Swede present joined in the deter- 
mination: "We will sacrifice our wealth 
or our lives, and all that we have in this 
world, rather than abandon the pure 
Gospel." 

It was in the midst of these scenes that 
Gustavus Adolphus came upon the world's 



GiTSTAvus Adolphus. 15 

stage. His baptism, whicli took place 
January 1, 1595, was the occasion of great 
popular rejoicing. The people loved to 
relate that, ten years before that date, the 
celebrated astronomer, Tycho Brahe, had 
announced the birth of a prince who 
should render famous the northern States 
of Europe, and should save the Evangel- 
ical Church. Without lending faith to 
such legends as these, we may easily see 
in them the superstitious but sincere en- 
thusiasm which welcomed the heir of the 
Duke of Sundermania, and presaged his 
future elevation. 

The child, according to a scriptural ex- 
pression, grew, and waxed strong in spirit. 
His brilliant natural endowments devel- 
oped rapidly under the excellent influences 
of his parents. A relish for arms could 
not fail to manifest itself in him, for he 
had heard of only wars and battles from 



16 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

early cMldliood. His father was ever tak- 
ing his departure to go to the corabat, and 
ever returning to relate victories, which 
inflamed his young imagination and nour- 
ished his martial inclinations. 

The National Assembly of Sweden of 
1595 had excluded from the throne all 
Catholic candidates. Sigismond refused 
to subscribe to this condition, and pre- 
tended to hold the rights which his father 
had delegated to him. His Catholic faith 
left to him the succession, on his mother's 
side, in Poland, and he flattered himself 
also that he should enjoy the benefits of 
the Swedish crown. He invaded the king- 
dom, and attempted to obtain it by force ; 
but, after a decisive defeat, he found him- 
self forced to withdraw, after having signed 
a capitulation which was equivalent to an 
abdication. His uncle became king under 
the name of Charles IX., and his descend- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 17 

ants were declared the only legitimate 
heirs to the throne of Sweden. 

Charles had already once refused the 
place of his nephew, and in obeying new 
solicitations and yielding to the force of 
circumstances, he thought only to obey 
the voice of his conscience. He signified, 
to the deputies of the nation, that if a son 
of Sigismond should embrace the prin- 
ciples of the Reformation, he should inherit 
the crown, nor did he forget this generous 
reservation in his will. When we com- 
pare the delicacy of this conduct with that 
of Sigismond, trampling under foot all his 
promises, it is impossible not to recognize 
in the King of Poland a pupil of the 
Jesuits, and in Charles a disciple of a re- 
ligion that appeals above all things to the 
conscience. 

After the war with the Polish invaders, 
Charles had to defend his power on the 



18 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

continent; Finland, stirred up by the in- 
trigues of Sigismond, submitted only after 
a bloody struggle. 

Gustavus Adolphus accompanied his 
father on this last expedition, although he 
was yet scarcely seven years of age. The 
vessel on which they were returning was 
frozen fast in the ice, and the child was 
obliged to continue the journey on foot 
with his father in the midst of the rigors 
of a Kussian winter. The robustness of 
his constitution, however, withstood these 
hardships, and his health suffered no 
injury. 

There is an anecdote related of him 
which shows that, even in childhood, his 
soul was as intrepid as his body was 
hardy. He was rambling in the iSelds 
near Stockholm, when the notion suddenly 
struck him to run to a thicket of woods 
which was quite distant from those who 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 19 

had him in care. They tried to detain 
him by appealing to his sense of fear, and 
told him that, in the woods, there were a 
great many large and fearful serpents. 
" That's nothing," he replied ; " only give 
me a stick that I may kill them." 

He was fond of watching all military 
operations, and thus revealed, from earli- 
est childhood, his love for the vocation 
of war. While reviewing a Swedish fleet 
with his father at Calmar, an officer asked 
the young Gustavus which of all the ships 
he liked the best. " The Black Chevalier," 
said he. " Why do you give it the prefer- 
ence?" said the officer. "Because it car- 
ries the greatest number of cannon," was 
the reply, without a moment's hesitation. 

Still another anecdote is related, which 
proves a natui^al generosity of heart, not 
less remarkable than his hardihood and 
courage. One day, a farmer brought a 

2 



20 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

valuable little pony to the young prince 
and begged him to accept it as a gift from 
him. "I will take the pony," said Gus- 
tavus, " but you must let me pay you for 
it; it is worth a good sum, and I know 
your resources can illy afford so expensive 
a gift." 

While speaking, he drew out his purse, 
full of ducats, and emptied the contents 
into the hands of the peasant, who stood 
as if stupefied at such an evidence of 
benevolence and largeness of soul in a 
mere child. 

But Gustavus's precocity of intellect 
was, above all, surprising. Before he had 
attained the age of sixteen he had learned 
six languages. He was equally master of 
Swedish, Latin, German, Dutch, French, 
and Italian. He also spoke a little Polish 
and Russian. But his father did not limit 
himself to the cultivation of his intellect 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 21 

alone ; he also gave much attention to the 
education of his heart. He inspired in 
him habits of industry, and encouraged 
him to practice all the virtues which work 
together to make a man of a noble and 
Christian character. He gave him a com- 
plete religious instruction, and endeavored 
to render him firm in his faith. He sought 
less to make him comprehend the prin- 
ciples of the Keformation, than he did to 
make him love them. He desired, above 
all things, that religion should be, to his 
son, an aifair of the heart rather than of 
the head. In a word, Charles IX. spared 
no pains in making his son worthy and 
capable of reigning over his beloved 
Sweden. 

The letter which this wise and good 
monarch gave his son, with his last adieu 
and with his last counsels, is still extant. 
'' Above all," said he to him, "fear God. . . . 



22 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Houor thy father and thy mother. Love 
deeply and sincerely your brothers and 
sisters. Esteem the faithful servants of 
your father, and reward each one accord- 
ing to his merits. Be humane toward 
your subjects. Punish the wicked, love 
the good. Trust every one, but not with- 
out caution. Observe the law without 
respect of person. Deprive no one of 
privileges if they are well-founded and not 
contrary to the general good." 

We find, in these simple and austere 
maxims, the foundation of that kind of 
education which fashions the noblest and 
most resolute characters; those men of 
granite steadfastness who have ever been 
admired, but whose sublime type is being 
daily more and more effaced by the grow- 
ing effeminacy of our age. 

The mother of Gustavus Adolphus con- 
tributed also to the best development of 



GusTAYUs Adolphus. 23 

the numerous gifts with which Providence 
had endowed her son. She seconded 
heartily all her husband's wise efforts 
to this end, and tried to suppress all ex- 
cessive indulgences to which the tender- 
ness of her mother-love often prompted 
her. Somewhat stern, and perhaps a little 
haughty, she suffered no violation of rules 
in her household, and prescribed daily 
tasks, even to her lady attendants. Her 
virtuous walk was an example to all, and, 
thanks to her, the court was without dan- 
gers and snares for her sons. She had a 
decided preference for her second son, 
Charles Philip; so much so that her par- 
tiality might have estranged a little her 
eldest son and made divisions in the fami- 
ly; but Gustavus was too good a son to 
make complaints of a good mother and 
too loving a brother to be jealous of his 
brothers. 



24 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Charles thought nothing more desirable, 
to complete the education of his son, than 
to early accustom him to the management 
of business aJffairs and to give him a prac- 
tice in real life, a thing which books never 
yet have been able to teach. From the 
age of ten, he took him with him to be 
present at the conclaves of the counselors 
of the throne, and into all public assem- 
blies. He even allowed him to hold con- 
verse in his presence with foreign officials, 
who were present from time to time in 
these assemblies. It gratified him to hear 
the young prince talking of battles, sieges, 
and military organization like an old gen- 
eral, and asking questions with the ardor 
of a child whose curiosity is never satisfied 
nor wearied. 

At the age of fourteen, the king sent 
Gustavus with his mother into the northern 
part of Sweden, in order that he might 



GusTAYUs Adolphus. 25 

learn to know and be known by his future 
subjects. He advised him to listen to all 
who might solicit his support, to aid all 
according to his means, and, above all, to 
send none away without consolation for 
their trials and grievances. The journey 
was a complete success. At fifteen he de- 
sired to lead an army against the Russians, 
but it was not thought advisable on ac- 
count of his youth, and so the campaign 
was made without him. 

In 1611, however, when Denmark de- 
clared herself against Sweden, Charles 
gave to Gustavus the command of a body 
of troops. He set out immediately for 
the deliverance of Calmar, which was 
then besieged by the Danes. From the 
commencement to the end of this war, he 
displayed the most eminent qualities of 
generalship, and admirably directed all 
movements. He so inspired the people 



26 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

witli confidence, that the king left him at 
the head of the whole army, while he was 
absent attending a diet elsewhere. 

But Charles was only fairly on his jour- 
ney when he fell seriously ill, and he felt 
assured that he had come to the close of 
his career. Many gathered about him and 
were lamenting sorely over the loss that 
Sweden must sustain in giving up lier 
king, and especially that so muck that 
was already begun must be left unfinished. 
The old king impressively laid his hand 
upon the head of his son, who had hast- 
ened thither to receive kis last words, and 
said, ''^ llle facieV'^ — He will do it. He 
died, October 10, 1611, at the age of 
sixty-one. 





CHAPTEE II. 

EEIG]^ OF GUSTAYUS ADOLPHUS. 

His valor — His domestic virtues — His piety. 

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS was only 
seventeen years old when lie suc- 
ceeded his father, Charles IX., to the 
throne. The time of his majority was 
shortened seven years. His wondei^fiil pre- 
cocity and maturity rendered him worthy 
to be this exception of history. His ability 
had been proved in the war which Sweden 
was sustaining against Denmark. He car- 
ried on the struggle with success, and the 
king of Denmark renounced all claims to 
the Swedish throne. 

Scarcely was this question settled when 



28 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

he was called into Russia to sustain the 
party which had offered the crown to his 
brother. Charles Philip's competitor was 
Uladislas, son of Sigismond, king of Po- 
land, so lately dethroned in Sweden. In 
order to terminate these dissensions the 
Russians renounced both princes, and 
chose a ruler from among themselves. 
Gustavus consented to make peace, and 
by thus yielding the claim, obtained an 
addition of territory which the newly 
chosen sovereign ceded to him. "This 
short war," says an historian, " was an ex- 
cellent school for the young king. He 
fought under the brave Count Jacques de 
la Gardie, whose valor so struck the Rus- 
sians with admiration that they gave his 
name a place in their calendar." 

After having perfected his naturally rare 
military talents by experience, Gustavus 
Adolphus, seconded by his brave and re- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 29 

nowned generals, soon outwitted the eter- 
nal enemy of Ms race, Sigismond, who had 
used all his power to overthrow him, and 
had even seized one of his continental 
provinces. Gustavus soon forced him to 
withdraw from it, and he also took several 
Prussian cities which had favored the at- 
tempts of Sigismond. 

His power, threatened on all sides, was 
thus assured by a succession of victories; 
and the liberal spirit of the Swedes, whose 
devotion to their king shrank before no 
sacrifice, joined to a wise administration, 
soon replenished the public treasury, which 
had been drained by so many wars. 

It has been well remarked, that no king 
ever took into his hands the reins of gov- 
ernment under more unfavorable circum- 
stances; and we may add, that never 
were difficulties more swiftly surmounted. 
It was necessary for him, so to speak, to 



30 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

conquer his inheritance, and to purchase 
his right to the throne with his blood. 
He never drew the sword in a spirit of 
conquest, nor for the mere love of war; 
the interest of his country was his only 
motive of action; he made war only that 
he might bring peace. He sternly dis- 
countenanced every act of vengeance; he 
gave the example of courage in battle, and 
of generosity and magnanimity after tri- 
umph and victory. He was full of solici- 
tude for his soldiers, but he tolerated on 
their part no license, and insisted on a strict 
cultivation of etiquette and religion in 
camp. Regular worship was held there — 
morning and evening, the entire army bent 
the knee before God and reverently im- 
plored his aid and his favor. The king 
himself was every-where; giving encour- 
agement and counsel here, lifting with a 
helping hand there, marching ahead in 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 31 

the midst of bloody contest, and handling 
the pickax in the trenches. While main- 
taining discipline among his soldiers he 
suppressed the bastinado as a punishment, 
and thus showed himself even more jealous 
of the dignity of humanity than do several 
civilized nations of to-day. He v^as also 
as prudent as brave, always surrounding 
himself with the wisest counselors, and 
consulting each of his States before enter- 
ing upon any public enterprise. 

His energy and power of endurance 
were almost incredible. When sick or 
wounded he was never heard to complain, 
nor was he ever seen taking care of him- 
self. During the Russian campaign he 
was attacked by an intermittent fever, 
but, far from keeping his bed, he amused 
himself by fencing with one of his of- 
ficers, and gave himself up to the sport 
with such ardor that he broke out in a 



32 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

profuse perspiration, and thus conquered 
the fever. 

Several times during his career he was 
saved from death, almost as by miracle. 
During the Livonian campaign with the 
Poles, a shot swept the place he had occu- 
pied the moment after he had left it. On 
another occasion several fell around him 
under a shower of balls, so close that the 
blood of their wounds spurted upon his 
clothes, and a few moments later a shot 
pierced his tent and passed just above his 
head. At Dantzic he gave orders to seven 
small boats to seize a redoubt, and, in 
order to be more sure of the result, he di- 
rected one of the embarkations himself. 
While thus employed he received a shot 
in his stomach. The wound was quite 
severe, but he wrote home the same day: 
"It was a warm engagement, and I was 
also wounded; but I thank God that my 




GUSTAVUS Al>OLPHUS. 



life and health are not in danger, and trust, 
that, after a few days, I shall be able to 
resume the command." 

Three months later, in Prussia, he was 
again severely wounded in a battle with 
the Duke of Brandenbui^g, an ally of his 
rival, the King of Poland. 

The day after the accident he again 
wrote a letter to his people, in which we 
are at a loss to know which most to ad- 
mire, his courage or his resignation. ^ 

" We presented ourselves before the ene- 
my," said he, "mounted and on foot, and 
we played so well our artillery that we 
thought we had put them to flight. But 
God permitted it otherwise. Just arrived 
at the spot where we expected and hoped 
to rout them entirely, a ball struck me on 
the shoulder, near the neck. It was this 
alone that prevented us from finishing the 
battle. Nevertheless, I thank God that in 



34 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

the midst of my misfortune he permits me 
to hope for the speedy recovery of my 
health and strength. 

Near the end of the same war against 
Poland and Prussia, Gustavus ran still an- 
other risk of losing his life. An Austrian 
army, composed of eight thousand infantry 
and two thousand cavalry, came up to the 
aid of Poland. Gustavus Adolphus de- 
manded of Wallenstein, Duke of Fried- 
land, who had sent the army, what motive 
he had in mingling himself in his affairs. 
Wallenstein replied arrogantly, "My mas- 
ter, the Emperor, has too many troops, and 
is obliged to send a few of them to his 
friends." 

In order to combat this new adversary 
the Swedish king had need of re-enforce- 
ments, and, while waiting, he desired to 
take refuge behind the ramparts of Marien- 
burg, one of the cities he had taken from 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 35 

Prussia. But one of his generals allowed 
himself to be drawn into an engagement 
with the Imperialists and exposed his 
whole corps to comjDlete destruction. Al- 
ready the Swedish battalions began to 
fall back before the forces of Wallenstein, 
when Gustavus Adolphus, warned of the 
threatened defeat, rushed with all haste to 
the rescue. Drawn into the general tu- 
mult, and, so to speak, lost in it, he was 
on the point of being taken by one of the 
enemy's cavalry, whose saber brushed his 
head and occasioned the loss of his hat. 
Scarcely escaped from this danger, he near- 
ly fell into the hands of another of the 
cavalry, who even seized him by the arm. 
All would soon have been over with Gus- 
tavus Adolphus had he not been seen by 
a Swedish dragoon, who flew to his de- 
fense, and delivered him from death by 

giving death to the Austrian. 

3 



S6 GusTAVus Adolphus. 

Providence evidently protected the life 
of the King of Sweden, and reserved him 
for yet greater purposes. And the king 
always recognized, and was always grate- 
ful for this Divine protection. He con- 
fided in it without reserve. In the midst 
of bloody battles, as at home, he felt him- 
self as under the eye of God, and ever 
renewedly placed himself in his hands. 
'' God," said he often, " has given me the 
crown, not that I should fear or remain in 
repose, but that I may consecrate my life 
to his glory and to the good of my sub- 
jects." In fact, the glory of God seemed 
to be the continual aim of all the king's 
movements. His faith shone out in all his 
words. The cause of the Gospel was his 
own cause, and its triumph was his most 
ardent wish. 

Master of Prussia as far as Dantzic, his 
first care was to write to the authorities of 




Gustavus found Studying the Bible, 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 39 

all the conquered cities, to deliver up to 
the Protestants all their places of worship 
of which they had been deprived. He 
recommended to the Pastors to preach 
faithfully the Word of God, to administer 
the Lord's Supper with care, and to awak- 
en every-where, as much as possible, true 
Christian life. 

He could not tolerate profanity, nor 
light and disrespectful jesting of any kind 
concerning religion. He was often found 
alone, reading his Bible. At one time he 
said: "I seek to fortify myself against 
perverse flatterers by meditating on the 
Sacred Word. A person in my position 
owes only to God an account of his actions, 
and it is precisely this independence of 
position which occasions a multitude of 
temptations, against which we are never 
sufficiently on our guard." 

His private and family life was as beau- 



40 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

tiful as was his public career. Mild and 
loving toward all his relatives, he was, to 
his mother especially, the kindest and most 
respectful of sons; nor did power change 
at all his sentiments in this regard. Long 
after coming to the throne he begged his 
mother to still remain with him, and to 
love him as she ever had done. 

Eiga had held out in a siege to the last 
extremity, and had caused great losses in 
the Swedish army. The city being finally 
taken, the inhabitants could only expect 
severe terms and heavy chastisement ; but 
Gustavus Adolphus, here as elsewhere, 
displayed a wonderful Christian magna- 
nimity. He treated the conquered with 
a mildness that equally astonished both 
friends and enemies. 

After the siege of Riga, Gustavus's broth- 
er, Charles Philip, fell very sick. He was 
so tenderly cared for, and so surrounded 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 41 

by his brother's watchful kindness, that 
the young Duke wrote to his sister Cath- 
arine : " The converse of the king is so in- 
teresting, and his society so agreeable, that 
the time passes without my being able to 
think of my sufferings." The death of this 
prince was a great grief to the heart of the 
king. In a letter written on this occasion 
the following touching and appreciative 
passage is found : 

"His heart was never cast down by 
misfortunes and reverses. In spite of his 
youth, he loved his country too well to 
remain at rest in his house when Poland 
attacked Sweden. He constantly sought 
to excite to courage the young nobility. 
O, my country ! what hast thou not lost 
in him ! " 

Charles Philip had just attained his 
twenty-fii'st year, and aw^akened many brill- 
iant hopes. The royal family of Sweden, 



42 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

which, a few years before, numbered three 
members, was now reduced to a single 
one. 

Gustavus Adolphus married the beauti- 
ful Marie Eleonore, of the house of Bran- 
denburg. Never was there a royal union 
of purer love, nor one that took place 
under more favorable auspices. It had 
been long and lovingly anticipated by 
both princess and king. The gift of the 
heart had really preceded that of the 
hand. 

His religion was important above all 
other matters, and he did not neglect it 
even during his very brief sojourn at Ber- 
lin, whither he went to demand the con- 
sent of the mother of the princess. He 
went into the sanctuary to implore God's 
blessing on his choice, and paid so close 
attention to the sermon that he noted 
down all the principal points. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 43 

His marriage was celebrated with mucli 
pomp, Nov. 28, 1620, in his palace at 
Stockholm. 

Their domestic happiness was untroub- 
led until the sorrow of a dead-born child 
fell over them, and changed a day that 
would have been one of rejoicing into one 
of mourning. This was a great grief to 
the king, but he recognized it as the will 
of his heavenly Father, and as a chastise- 
ment for him. He wrote to his brother-in- 
law, the Duke of Brandenburg : 

"I must tell you the sorrow that has 
come to my house. God has punished me 
in giving me a dead child." 

But he did not in anywise rebel against 
Providence when another similar sorrow 
fell to his lot, and made him fear that he 
should have no inheritor to the throne. 
Finally, he had a daughter, and, although 
having greatly desired a son, he took the 



44 GusTAVus Adolphus. 

child in Lis arms, caressed it, and reverent- 
ly said : 

" God be praised ! I trust this daughter 
may be worth as much to me as a son. 
May God, who has given her to me, pre- 
serve her for me ! " Then he added, smiling, 
"She will be artful, for she has deceived 
us all," alluding to the expectation of all 
that it would be a prince. 

He did not then think that he foretold 
what was to be but too true in after years. 
He little mistrusted that the daughter of 
Gustavus Adolphus would ever dishonor 
his name by debauchery and apostasy.* 

What a sad prophecy in the playful 

* Christina, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, idolized 
by the Swedes on account of her father, betrayed their 
affection by surrounding herself with corrupt men, and 
by wasting the public finances in order to gratify her 
guilty caprices. Weary of these material embarrassments, 
she afterward abdicated, went to Belgium, thence to 
Trance, where she was instrumental in the murder of 
Monaldeschi. She died in Kome. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 



45 



words of the king, and how plainly it 
shows that religions faith is not hereditary, 
but a personal matter! God spared the 
Christian hero from living to see this 
double shame. 





CHAPTER III. 

THE THIETY YEAES' WAE. 

Its Beginnings— Intervention of Gustavus Adolphus— His 
Departure. 

THE eventful moment had come when 
Gustavus Adolphus was to enter up- 
on the work to which Providence had des- 
tined him. For a long time he had longed 
to devote his life and, if necessary, to shed 
his blood for the Protestant Church, at- 
tacked while he was in his cradle. The 
perils and hardships of the German Prot- 
estants stirred his most lively sympathy. 
Their every groan awakened an echo in 
his heart. At the beginning^of the Thirty 
Years' War he was occupied with three 
wars, the finishing of which Ms father had 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 47 

bequeathed to him, so that, until his hands 
were free from these, he could only remain 
a distant and sympathetic witness of the 
trials of his suffering brethren, and leave 
his projects for assisting them to a future 
need. 

The peace of Augsburg, forced from 
Charles Fifth by the victorious Lutherans, 
in granting liberty of conscience seemed to 
have ended the struggle between Catholi- 
cism and Protestantism. But this peace 
was only of short duration. The Jesuits, 
spread every-where through the country, 
ever faithful to the Roman Church, which 
has never tolerated any other religious 
faith than its own, and has ever held, as 
rebels and enemies of the divine trath, all 
those who refused to accept without re- 
serve its doctrines and its practices, pushed 
to an open rupture, and loudly demanded 
a more speedy conversion of the hei'etics, 



48 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

by means of arms taken np under sanction 
of the emperor. But there must be some 
pretext for renewing hostilities; Bohemia 
was not long in giving one. The country 
of John Huss, the forerunner of the Befor- 
mation, whose funeral pile lighted up the 
deliberations of the Council of Constance, 
commenced by separating itself from Bome 
in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
and ended by embracing Protestantism. 
The Emperor Budolph 11. was obliged to 
authorize there the free exercise of Protest- 
ant worship. He recognized also their 
right to build new churches, to establish 
schools according to need, and to convoke 
their ecclesiastical council. All these con- 
cessions, demanded by a people ready to 
take them with weapons in their hands 
should they be refused, were granted, July 
2, 1609, in a famous letter called the Let- 
ter of Majesty. Mathias, brother and sue- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 49 

cesser of Rudolph, not only confirmed, but 
increased the religious liberties of Bohemia, 
and gave to her for king, his nephew, 
Ferdinand de Gratz, the inheritor of the 
imperial crown and Archd-uke of Styria. 

This king promised, at first, to maintain 
the privileges stipulated for in the Letter 
of Majesty. But he did not long remain 
faithful to his promise. Devoted to the 
interests of Catholicism, and a docile sub- 
ject of the Eomish court, he was sure 
the Pope would sanction his perjury, and 
thought, with other Catholic jDrinces, v^hose 
example had encouraged him, that there 
was no virtue in keeping either faith or 
word of honor with a heretic. "It were 
preferable," said he, " to rule over a desert 
than over a country of heretics." With 
such a man, intolerance and religious per- 
secution were inevitable. The Protestant 
nobility were excluded from all honors 



50 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

and deprived even of their employments. 
The officers of the crown were chosen from 
among the open enemies of the faith of the 
majority of the people, and they subjected 
them to all manner of vexations. Soon, 
Ferdinand, sporting with every right, with 
all treaties and promises, opposed all 
claims of his subjects sent to his uncle, the 
emperor, and managed to bring about the 
interdiction of their religious assemblies. 

The harsh reply, sent in answer to a 
statement of their grievances, excited the 
indignation of the Bohemians to its high- 
est. Not satisfied with imposing on them 
himself, Mathias approved all the violent 
measures of which they were the victims, 
and was the first to proclaim openly the 
abolition of their privileges, and to tyran- 
nize over their consciences. The Council 
of Kegency, composed of rigid Catholics, 
was regarded by the people as the real 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 51 

author of the imperial response, and, in all 
cases, as the instigator of the unjust orders 
issued at Vienna. They immediately has- 
tened to the council chamber at Prague 
where the councilors were in session. The 
deputies of the Protestant provinces, who 
marched at the head of the excited crowd, 
summoned the president and his colleagues 
to an explanation, and to inform them 
whether the imperial response had not been 
first prepared there, and then sent to Ma- 
thias for his signature. Two of these high 
officers of the empire replied with calm- 
ness and dignity, and the crowd went no 
further than to chase them from the palace. 
The other two received the representatives 
of the nation with insults and threats ; this 
changed the indignation of the people into 
rage, and they hurled the two councilors 
out of the window into the ditch surround- 
ing the royal edifice. They then seized 



52 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

the secretary, who was an accomplice, and 
subjected him to the same fate. "The 
whole civilized world," says Schiller, " was 
astonished at this savage procedure. The 
Bohemians excused themselves by saying 
that it was an ancient custom of the coun- 
try, and declared that they saw nothing 
remarkable in this event, save that the 
judges, after such a leap, should have risen 
up safe and sound. They really owed this 
good fortune to the mass of filth upon 
which they fell, which, in softening the 
shock of their fall, saved their lives." 

This affair, known in history under the 
name of Defenestration of Prague, inau- 
gurated the Thirty Years' War, May 25, 
1618. 

After such a step of violence, there re- 
mained no other course for the Bohemians 
to pursue than to fly to arms to protect 
their persons and their religion. There 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 58 

were no possible negotiations to be made, 
and force of arms alone could give them 
again their rights. 

With an energy and promptitude worthy 
of the gravity of the circumstances and the 
importance of their cause, they constituted 
a national government, and gave their king, 
Ferdinand, to understand that they felt 
themselves freed from every engagement 
with a prince who, since he came into 
power, had not ceased to conspire against 
the faith and laws of his subjects. 

The Jesuits, who had caused all these 
evils, and destroyed, by their intrigues, 
the tranquillity of Bohemia, were banished. 
The thirty directors, chosen among the 
deputies, to administer public affairs, in- 
vited all the Protestants of the kingdom 
to second the national movement, and 
raised an army, the command of which was 

given to Count Thurm, the author of the 

4 



54 GusTAVUs Adolphus. 

revolt which had constrained Rudolph to 
sign the Letter of Majesty, and the main 
defender of civil and religious liberty in 
Bohemia. 

At the same time they sent a call to 
Hungary, to Moravia, to Silesia, and also 
to their brethren of the Evangelical Union, 
a powerful league formed, by the Prot- 
estant princes of Germany, against their 
common enemies, the emperor and the 
Pope. Mathias, with the funds and the 
soldiery of the Church, formed an army 
and sent it against the rebels. Two de- 
feats, however, soon taught the imperials 
how difficult it is to conquer a people who 
fight for their religion and independence. 
About this time, and in order to follow up 
these first successes, the Evangelical Union 
sent to the aid of its brethren a re-inforce- 
ment of four thousand men, under the 
leadership of Count Mansfeld. This able 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 55 

general signalized his arrival in Boliemia 
bv the takinof of Pilsen, the stronefest of 
the three cities of the kingdom in which 
the Catholics had the ascendancy, and the 
one most devoted to the emperor. This 
new loss seemed to have assured the Bo- 
hemians of triumph. Mathias was pre- 
paring peace measures at the moment when 
death snatched him from the scene, and 
left the imperial crown to Ferdinand of 
Styria, the irreconcilable enemy of the 
Reformation. All hoj)e of settling affairs 
was then lost. Count Thurm took up 
his march again after his short respite, 
and proceeding from victory to victory, 
he soon arrived even at Vienna. Ever in- 
creased upon its passage, by recruits from 
all the Protestant provinces, which Ferdi- 
nand had enraged against him by his vio- 
lent and unjust fanaticism, the Bohemian 
army was ready to dictate to the emperor 



56 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

himself, in Ms palace even, and to dis- 
pose of the empire according to its own 
mind. 

The Austrian garrison was exhausted. 
Several of their barons rushed into the 
king's chamber to urge and, if possible, 
compel him to deliver his capital up to the 
Bohemians ; but he stubbornly refused, and 
while they were discussing, the Flemish 
army, sent to his support, appeared in the 
city, and this put to flight the insurgents 
of the city, and they fled for safety to the 
Bohemians, who soon broke up camp and 
returned to Prague. 

In order to more fully deliver them- 
selves from the domination of Ferdinand, 
the Bohemians elected for king the Elector 
Palatine, Frederick V., who was at the head 
of the Evangelical Union. This choice 
was hailed with cries of joy, and the crown- 
ing took place August 26, 1619, but it 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 57 

was a reio^n of short duration. Throuo^h 
a few missteps, Frederick gave offense to 
the Hussites and Lutherans, and he soon 
found himself abandoned by all the Prot- 
estant princes, of whose support he was in 
so much need. He found himself alone 
with his subjects, against the united troops 
of Austria and of the Catholic league. 

The Bohemians, overwhelmed and dis- 
couraged by the number of the enemy, 
were defeated in a battle near Prague, 
Nov. 8, 1621. The next day the city was 
taken, and the unfortunate Frederick, with 
the chief leaders, fled. All the other cities 
soon surrendered, and the chiefs of the 
states gave oath of fidelity to the emperor. 

Master of the situation, Ferdinand fei^rned 
for three months to have forgotten his ran- 
cors against the Bohemians, but as soon as 
the chiefs of the revolt, deceived by an ap- 
parent amnesty, returned to Prague, he 



58 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

cast aside Ms mask. In one day, forty- 
eight of the principal ones in the rebellion 
were arrested and taken before a court- 
martial. Twenty-seven of them fell under 
the executioner's ax, and a great many of 
the citizens were condemned to the same 
fate. Confiscation of property and exile 
were also the portion of many. All Prot- 
estant churches were closed, and at a 
solemn sitting of the Council, Ferdinand 
II. tore the Letter of Majesty and burned 
the pieces. Then, in order more complete- 
ly to crown his vengeance, he put the 
Elector Frederick under the ban of the 
empire and deprived him of his hereditary 
estates, which latter he bestowed on Maxi- 
milian, as recompense for his services. 

In vain did several Protestant princes 
who were indignant at this example, which 
was a threat to all their crowns, wish to 
oppose this despotism. The commander 



GusTAYus Adolphus. 59 

of tlie Bavarian army, General Tilly, con- 
quered them, and Ferdinand knew no 
other limit to his power than his own will. 
He ruled over Protestant Germany with a 
scepter of iron, and treated it as a con- 
quered country. Tilly swept over the 
land, pillaging and ravaging every-where. 
This standing army to support, and the 
ever-increasing unjust deeds of the Court 
of Vienna, urged on the Protestants to 
take a last stand. They knew that these 
violent acts were but the prelude to their 
near extermination. Ferdinand had vowed 
that he would defend his religion, at the 
peril even of his life, every-where that his 
arms and power could go. 

Under this state of things, weary of the 
yoke which weighed upon them, irritated 
by persecution, anxious for the future, the 
states of Lower Saxony finally joined in a 
treaty to defend themselves against unjust 



60 GrusTAvus Adolphus. 

aggressions, and to repel force by force. 
Too weak to do this alone, they sought, 
before engaging in the struggle, allies 
outside of Germany, and turned toward 
the powers of the North that professed 
the same faith. Gustavus Adolphus, still 
retained in Poland by the troops of 
Sigismond, whom ever-increasing reverses 
seemed only to make more obstinate, nev- 
ertheless would have accepted the com- 
mand of the Protestant league, which none 
merited more than he. He offered also a 
large army accustomed to war. But the 
king of Denmark, Christian IV., brother-in- 
law of the Elector Palatine, was preferred 
to him. 

Jealous of the glory of Gustavus Adol- 
phus, and happy to have an opportunity 
of winning an equal renown. Christian 
opened the campaign in March, 1625, 
with sixty thousand men. His incapacity, 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 61 

shown in several indecisive eogagements, 
was fast compromising the cause which he 
wished to serve. He lost the battle of 
Hutter, and was driven back by Tilly, 
even to his own dominions. To complete 
his misfortunes, at the moment when he 
essayed to repair his defeat by re-enforce- 
ments from England and Scotland, Ferdi- 
nand opposed him with an adversary more 
formidable even than Tilly. Wallen stein 
appeared, to second the efforts of the Cath- 
olic League, and to take the first rank as 
commander. 

Wallenstein was celebrated for his riches 
and for his military genius. In several 
campaigns he had given proofs of his 
power and of his devotion to the house 
of Austria. He had been rapidly promot- 
ed, had justified his promotion by driving 
the Hungarians out of Moravia, and had 
received for this brilliant success a part 



62 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

of the spoils of his -anfortunate fellow- 
countrymen. He proposed to the emperor 
to furnish an army which should be his 
own, and free from the League. Ferdinand 
agreed to his desires, and W alien stein 
" soon had united under his banner, in the 
hope of rapid promotion and rich booty, a 
multitude of warlike men, gathered from 
all parts of Germany." 

This army, fifty thousand strong, after 
having conquered and dispersed the troops 
of Mansfeld, the most valuable auxiliary 
of the King of Denmark, soon brought 
under subjection Silesia, Lower Saxony, 
,and Holstein. Trembling for his own 
kingdom, which the emperor had openly 
promised to Wallenstein, Christian has- 
tened to take advantage of the check of 
the Imperials before Stralsund, in order to 
retake Jutland, Schleswig, and Holstein, 
and to obtain peace. A treaty was con- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 63 

eluded at Liibeck, May 22, 1629. Austria 
restored to the King of Denmark his pos- 
sessions, but forbade him all intervention in 
the affairs of Germany. Christian basely 
sacrificed for his own safety, not only his 
allies, but the principles in the name of 
which he had taken up arms. He allowed 
to be insulted, even in his presence, the 
Swedish embassadors, who, before the 
treaty was finished, interceded in behalf 
of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, who had 
been set aside to make place for Wallen- 
stein, already made Duke of Friedland. 

Ferdinand wished to make of entire Ger- 
many another Bohemia, and even before 
being freed from the Danes he published, 
March 6, 1629, the Edict of Restitution, 
which enjoined on all Protestants the giv- 
ing back of all bishoprics and benefices 
which the peace of Augsburg had put into 
their hands. This was to decree the ruin 



64 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

of the Reformation by depriving it of all 
means of living. It was, as says Schiller, 
to deprive the Lutherans of a fortune which 
descended to them from their ancestors as 
much as it did to the Catholics from 
theirs. It v^^as, in a word, to replace under 
the domination of the Romish clergy the 
countries which had overthrown it. 

The Catholic sovereigns had the right, 
besides, to banish those of their Protestant 
subjects, who refused compliance with these 
demands. 

Wallen stein was charged with execut- 
ing this edict. "Impatient of all depend- 
ence, he levied enormous contributions, 
and encouraged horrible depredations of 
the soldiery every- where." The Jesuits tri- 
umphed, and provoked persecution by dis- 
courses in which was plainly depicted, in 
cynical language, the implacable hate which 
they had of Protestantism. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 65 

History has preserved the nanie of one 
of them, Lorenzo Forer, who said to the 
troops that came to Dillingen, with the 
commissaries appointed to take the Prot- 
estant possessions, in the name of the em- 
peror : " Be active, my friends, and if any 
resist you, kill them and throw them into 
a fire hot enough to melt the stars, and 
oblige the angels to draw back their feet." 

A prolonged cry of terror was heard 
from all parts of Germany. The Catholics 
even, having suffered by Wallenstein and 
his soldiers, also gave in complaints to the 
emperor. His own brother wrote to him : 
"Your Majesty can have no idea of the 
conduct of the troops. I, myself, have been 
a warrior, and I know well that an army 
seldom advances without leaving some 
traces of violence in its path. But when, 
for mere amusement, windows are broken, 
walls thrown down, noses and ears cut off; 



66 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

when persons are tortured, violated, assas- 
sinated, these are certainly irregularities 
which superior officers should and can pre- 
vent. I know that many efforts are made 
to persuade your majesty that these reports 
are without foundation, but I hope you will 
place as much confidence in me, in regard 
to this, as in those others who fill their 
purses with the blood and sweat of the 
poor people. I could name to you many 
officers who, a short time ago, had not 
wherewith to clothe themselves, but who, 
to-day, have three or four thousand florins. 
Discontent is every- where increasing at an 
alarming rate, and my conscience permits 
me no longer to conceal from you the true 
state of affairs." 

Thanks to the Duke Maximilian of Ba- 
varia and several Catholic princes, this 
able but notorious general was deposed 
and his terrible troops disbanded. But 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 67 

the violent measures against the Protest- 
ants were not suspended. This frightful 
oppression lasted a whole year. 

"All the princes of Germany," says 
Richelieu, in his Memoirs, "injured and 
ravaged, looked toward the King of Swe- 
den in their misery, as navigators look to- 
ward the port of safety. The truce that 
Gustavus Adolphus concluded the same 
year which sent forth the Edict of Restitu- 
tion, permitted him to answer their hopes, 
which, for so long a time, had been his 
own. 

Sweden was the asylum of all the vic- 
tims of Austrian fanaticism, and so she was 
not astonished to see her king prepare to 
combat the emperor. Gustavus called the 
senate together at Upsal, and depicted to 
them the ever-increasing oppressions which 
the Protestants of Germany were under- 
going, also the imminent danger which 



68 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

threatened Sweden if she awaited the op- 
pressors at home, instead of forestalling 
them by making the first attack. 

His friend and chancellor, Oxenstiern, 
did not approve of this war; not that it 
did not appear to him just, but because, 
with the careful prudence of a statesman, 
he did not like to engage his king and 
country in a ruinous or uncertain enter- 
prise. Gustavus laid his hopes and his 
plans before him, and ended with these 
words: "That which can or cannot be 
done, God only knows. He alone can 
change desires into projects, carry into 
execution what is willed, and give a happy 
end to a good beginning." 

The language in which he replied to the 
senators who wished to retain him, and 
who advised him to repose after so many 
combats, was, at once, so fall of elevation 
and humility that no one could longer 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 69 

doubt that he was moved by a divine im- 
pulsion. Said he, " There is no other repose 
to be expected than that of eternity." 

From that time Gustavus Adolphus met 
with no more opposition to his designs. 
Richelieu, who then had great power in 
France, favored them, and sent an embas- 
sador to invite him to enter on the cam- 
paign as soon as possible, assuring him 
that all Germany would receive him as a 
Messiah. To these flatterers the Swedish 
hero replied with noble frankness, that he 
had received from Germany messages very 
different from that; that the Elector of 
Saxony, although Protestant, was allied to 
the emperor, and that Bavaria and the 
whole Catholic League would take up 
arms against him, and that he counted 
more on the people than on the princes, 
and upon God and his sword more than 
on all besides. 



70 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Then, animated by a praiseworthy senti- 
ment of independence, he refused the aid 
offered him. He wrote to his chancellor, 
"I have not found it advisable to unite 
with the King of France." 

He did not like to unite the sacred cause 
of the Keformation to the cunning politics 
of Richelieu, who had no other aim than 
that of humbling Austria, whose immense 
power excited his fears and wounded his 
pride. Above all, he disliked to join with 
the cardinal who had taken Eochelle and 
conquered the French Protestants. 

With his own resources Gustavus Adol- 
phus did not fear to enter the struggle 
against a sovereign feared by all Europe, 
and who thought himself invincible. He 
demanded of him the re-establishment of 
Germany in all her ancient rights, and 
promised him peace on no other condition. 
The imperial emissary who received this 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 71 

bold message said, "The Kiug of Sweden 
would not speak otherwise if he were al- 
ready in the heart of Germany with a vic- 
torious army.*" 

In the meantime, Gustavus Adolphus 
made all preparations for the expedition. 
Hearing of this, Ferdinand said, with dis- 
dain, " We have now one more little enemy 
to fight." And Wallenstein boasted that 
he would chase this impudent aggressor 
with a few strokes of his whip. He even 
proposed to give to any one who would 
spare him this trouble, by assassinating 
the Swede, thirty thousand thalers. 

Without halting for these disdainful 
boastings, the King of Sweden assembled 
thirty vessels of war and two hundred ves- 
sels of transport in the port of Elfsuaben, 
with fifteen thousand picked soldiers, com- 
manded by intelligent and intrejDid gen- 
erals. He did not forget, however, to look 



72 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

to tlae well-being and safety of his people 
during liis absence. He confided the gov- 
ernment into the hands of ^ve senators, 
and sent Oxenstiern, as skillful as a gen- 
eral as he was able as an administrator, 
with ten thousand men to oversee all move- 
ments in Poland. A reserve corps was 
charged with the care of the kingdom, and 
with furnishing the necessary recruits. 

Finally, in the early part of May, 1630, 
the fleet and the army were ready, and 
awaited their king. Gustavus, after having 
regulated his private affairs, as a good 
servant of God who sets his house in order 
before death, convoked the States to give 
them his last instructions, and to bid 
them a solemn farewell. He entered the 
hall of assembly accompanied by his little 
daughter, aged four years. He took her 
in his arms and commended her, in the 
most touching manner, to the Assembly 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 73 

and Senate, as their future sovereio^n, and 
besought them to give her the same affec- 
tion which they had ever shown toward 
him. The Assembly, moved to tears, unan- 
imously pledged fidelity to the only heir 
of their beloved king. 

After waiting a moment to regain his 
composure, the king continued to speak: 
^'I have not thoughtlessly engaged in this 
perilous war which calls me far from you. 
Heaven is my witness that it is neither for 
my satisfaction nor personal interest that 
I go into this conflict. The emperor has 
ruthlessly insulted me in the person of my 
embassadors ; he has sustained my enemies 
and persecuted my friends, my brethren ; 
and he has stretched out his arm to snatch 
from me my crown. Ready to sink down 
under the weight of oppression which 
hangs over them, the German Protestants 
stretch out suppliant hands to us. if it 



74 GusTAVUs Adolphus. 

please God, we will give them aid and 
protection. I am not ignorant of the dan- 
gers that await me; I have already been 
in many others, and by the grace of God 
I have ever come happily out of them. 
But I feel that I may lose my life there, 
and this is why, before leaving you, I rec- 
ommend you all to the protection of the 
Omnipotent One. I pray him to bestow 
upon you his divine benedictions, in order 
that, after this terrestrial life which is so 
transient, we may all meet each other in 
eternity." 

Then turning toward the senators, he 
besought God to accord unto them the 
wisdom and light necessary to the wise 
government of the kingdom. He next ex- 
horted the Pastors to ever preach the pure 
Gospel to their flocks, and to serve them- 
selves, as models of Christian life. He 
then addressed himself to the representa- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 75 

tives of the citizens and peasantry, wishing 
them prosperity in business and abundant 
harvests. "Finally," said he, "I send up 
to God most ardent prayers for all my 
subjects, whether present or absent. I say 
to you all farewell, from the depths of my 
heart, and — perhaps forever." 

This discourse was interrupted more 
than once by the sobs of the people, and 
the king himself wept. After a few mo- 
ments of silence he pronounced these 
words of the ninetieth psalm, which it was 
his habit to repeat before entering upon 
any important enterprise: "Turn thy face 
toward us, O Lord ! . . . Let thy work 
appear unto thy servants, and thy glory 
unto their children. . . . Let the beauty 
of the Lord our God be upon us, and 
establish thou the work of our hands upon 
us ; yea, the work of our hands establish 
thou it." 



76 



GusTAvus Abolphtjs. 



Nine or ten days after he embarked 
witli his little army at Elfsnaben, bearing 
the regrets and blessings of a multitude 
collected there to salute him at his de- 
parture. 





CHAPTER IV. 

GusTAvus Adolphus in Geemaist. 

His Difficulties — Siege of Magdeburg — Battle of Leipsic. 

ASSAILED by contrary winds, tlie 
Swedish fleet was forced to seek ref- 
uge in a port neighboring to the one it 
had just left. And when it set forth 
again the weather was but little more 
favorable, and their voyage across was 
so prolonged that their provisions nearly 
failed. This double discouragement at the 
very outset was of a nature to have troub- 
led a soul less stable than that of Gustavus 
Adolphus. Far from looking upon this as 
a bad presage, as soon as he set foot on the 
island of Riigen, a land under Austrian 



78 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

rule, he threw Mmself upon Ms knees, and 
in a transport of gratitude thanked God, 
before Ms attentive and reverent army, in 
these words : 

"O Thou that rulest over the heavens 
and the earth, over winds and over seas, 
how can I worthily thank thee for the mar- 
velous protection which thou hast shown 
me during this perilous voyage. . . . My 
heart is full of gratitude for thy favors. 
O deign to favor my undertaking here, so 
that it may turn out, not to my, but to thy 
glory. Grant, through me, to deliver thy 
oppressed Church, and to be to thy faith- 
ful servants a source of great consolation. 
Thou who triest the hearts and reins of 
men, thou knowest the purity of my inten- 
tions. Grant unto me favorable weather 
and a prosperous wind, which may en- 
courage my brave army, assure our hearts 
that thou art with us, and permit me to 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 79 

continue tlie sacred work that I have un- 
dertaken. Amen." 

It was indeed sacred work, a war begun 
with such sentiments and for such a noble 
end. He was no ambitious one, greedy of 
conquest and renown, this general, who 
sanctified every act of his life by prayer, 
and lived in constant communion with 
God. So great a fervor is rarely met with, 
especially among army officers — more con- 
fident in their own resources than in any 
aid from on high. But Gustavus Adolphus 
depended on aid from on high ; and this is 
why he set out, without money and with a 
mere handful of men, to combat with the 
hosts of a great empire. 

The debarkation of the Swedes took 
place June 24, 1630. At Augsburg, just 
one century before, to the month and da}^, 
the Protestants had made that celebrated 
Confession of Faith — which now served 



80 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

them as a sign for rallying — in the presence 
of the eroperor, Charles the Fifth, and the 
princes, dukes, and Bishops of all Germany. 
Now, it was at the moment, when the prin- 
ciples which were proclaimed then, were 
going to perish, that Gustavus Adolphus 
hastened to their defense. This coinci- 
dence doubtless struck him when he ren- 
dered thanks to God for ha^dng preserved 
him from the waves. The remembrance 
of such an anniversary, in recalling to him 
a past glory, was calculated to inflame his 
zeal and to fill him with confidence in the 
future. The faith of the founders of the 
Reformation, the divine unction of the 
author of the Confession of Faith, of Augs- 
burg,^ lived again in the heart of the 
Swedish hero, and so powerfully inspired 
his prayers that his soldiers were moved 
even to tears. "Weep not," said he to 

* The gentle and devout Melanchtlion. 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 81 

them, "but pray without ceasing. The 
more prayers the more victories." 

After having called down the benedic- 
tion of Heaven upon himself and his army, 
Gustavus Adolphus seized a sj)ade, and the 
whole army, following his example, began 
throwing up intrenchments to fortify their 
camp against the enemy, stationed in great 
numbers in their vicinity. As soon as 
these works were finished, he addressed his 
soldiers as follows: "Think not that I 
undertake this war for myself or for my 
kingdom. We go to succor our oppressed 
brethren. By brilliant victories you can 
accomplish this generous project, and ac- 
quire for yourselves an immortal glory. 
Fear not the enemy that we are going to 
meet in battle ; they are the same that 
you have already conquered in Kussia. 
Your bravery has just compelled Poland 
to conclude a truce of six years. If you 



82 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 



still show the same courage and persever- 
ance, you will secure to the evangelical 
Church and to our brethren in Germany 
the peace and security for which they are 
now suffering." 

This address was followed by a procla- 
mation of the military rules and regula- 
tions. According to their discipline, every 
attempt against life or property was pun- 
ished with death. 

Without losing a moment, Gustavus 
Adolphus brought under subjection the 
island of Riigen, and then chased the im- 
perial troops from the neighboring islands, 
thus rendering communication with Swe- 
den easy. He then advanced swiftly upon 
Stettin, the capital of Pomerania, and 
was ready to triumph, by force, over the 
hesitations of the old Duke Bogisla, who 
dared not choose between an alliance with 
Sweden or Austria. 



GusTAYus Adolphus. 88 

Camped under the walls of the city, 
which he had summoned to receive a 
Swedish garrison, he received, while await- 
ing a response from Bogisla, a visit from 
a number of citizens devoted to the cause 
of Protestantism, and desirous of seeing 
the one who had volunteered to be its de- 
fender. The king welcomed them with 
great kindness. He conversed in friendly 
words with them of their common faith, of 
the misfortunes of their German brethren, 
and of plans that he had formed for 
their deliverance. His friendliness touched 
them ; his eloquence persuaded them. The 
charms of his person contributed not a little 
to the sympathy and enthusiasm which he 
awakened. His face was pale and some- 
what long, but regular and expressive. 
He had light hair, a handsome beard, and 
a piercing eye. Like his uncle, Gustavus 
Vasa, he was of lofty stature, tidy, well 



84 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

proportioned, and noble in all his manners 
and actions. He loved music, and played 
some instruments very vrell. The brill- 
iancy of his victories, united to so many 
admirable natural qualities, rendered him 
very popular. 

The gates of Stettin opened, and Bogisla 
demanded the protection of Sweden in ex- 
change for the aid that he lent the king. 
In order not to burden the inhabitants, 
Gustavus Adolphus camped his men under 
tents. On Sunday he was present at three 
Church services. 

The Swedish army tarried here but a 
little ; it left Stettin to conquer the rest of 
Pomerania. The commander of the impe- 
rial forces essayed in vain to hinder his 
progress. One day, however, a betrayal 
came near delivering him into the hands 
of his adversary. Gustavus Adolphus, with 
seventy of his cavalry, was scouting around 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 85 

near the Austrian camp, in view of an at- 
tack. Suddenly he was surprised and 
surrounded by ^ve hundred of the ene- 
my. In vain his Swedish dragoons ac- 
complished prodigies of valor. They were 
overwhelmed by numbers. The king had 
his horse shot under him. He saw his 
faithful followers falling all around him. 
He was hemmed in on every side, and was 
on the point of being made prisoner, when 
two hundred Fins, who were awaiting his 
return not far from there, warned of his 
danger by the firing, precipitated them- 
selves like lightning upon the assailants, 
dispersed them, and saved their prince. 

An Italian, named Quinti del Ponto, 
who had deserted the flag of the emperor 
for the Swedish camp, was suspected of 
having informed the Austrians of the king's 
departure and of his small escort. The 

day after this affair this miserable creature 

6 



86 GusTAvus Adolphits. 

disappeared and was heard of no more. 
Another Italian, who was a friend to the 
other, was arrested, and he not only de- 
nounced the former, but confessed com- 
plicity with him. When questioned before 
his condemnation, he said to the judges, " I 
have often contemplated taking the king's 
life, but my heart has ever prevented me, 
and every time I have seized the murder- 
ous weapon my hand has seemed par- 
alyzed." What a man must he have been 
who inspired his most fierce enemies with 
respect and affection ! 

All these attempts against the life of 
Gustavus Adolphus were under the direc- 
tion of the Jesuits, who used all means to 
make away with this most powerful ob- 
stacle which they had ever met with. At 
least, this is the opinion of one of the 
most learned and best esteemed among the 
biographers of the great king of Sweden. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 87 

Gustavus Adolpbus never disquieted 
himself about these base plots. Distrust 
and suspicion had no access to this loyal 
soul, and for a long time he had often said 
to himself, with David, "I trust in God, I 
fear nothing: what shall man do unto 
me?" 

Nothing could enervate his courage nor 
disturb his serenity. He went on from 
victory to victory. The greater part of 
the Pomeranian youth gathered around 
his triumphant standard, and the States, 
happy to see the country delivered from 
the insatiable avarice of Torquato Conti 
and the excesses of the imperial troops, 
unanimously voted him a voluntary con- 
tribution. The moderation and humanity 
of the Swedes gained for them the hearts 
of the population, and they were received 
every- where with joy. Toward the end of 
the year 1630, a few months after his de- 



88 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

parture from Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus 
liad driven the imperials from the duchy 
and commanded there as sovereign. 

Notwithstanding his desire to penetrate 
into Mecklenburg, he was forced simply to 
surround it and to await the end of the 
winter. 

The emperor, after having made sport 
of Gustavus Adolphus, calling him the 
snow-king, destined to melt as he ap- 
proached the south, began to perceive that 
the Swedes were proof against all climates 
and seasons, and that he would have to 
assail them in earnest. He drew up an 
army which he put under the command 
of a companion of Wallenstein, General 
Pappenheim, whose experience and valor 
were equal. And the Catholic League, 
alarmed at the rapid success of this most 
terrible of all the champions of Protestant- 
ism, had levied troops and placed at their 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 89 

head the vanquisher of Mansfeld and the 
Danes, Tilly, a general who had never lost 
a battle. 

■ Since the disgrace of Wallen stein tht?re 
had been no lack of mercenary soldiers 
in Germany, who would serve all parties 
without distinction, according to the re- 
ward offei^ed. If Gustavus had been rich 
he could have taken into his ser\dce the 
greater part of these, and thus enlarged 
his army, which was too weak in numbers 
to combat two armies at once. He had 
to maintain himself in Pomerania as best 
he could, and seek, before going farther, 
increased aid, both as to men and money. 
A letter addressed to his faithful chancel- 
lor, Oxenstiern, December, 1630, reflects 
the difficulty of his situation, and his un- 
alterable faith in God: 

"May God, into whose hands I confide 
all, help us through this winter. The 



90 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

summer will go better, thanks to your care 
and foresight. I would describe to you 
our position, but a saber-wound has stiff- 
ened my hand. Let it suffice you to 
know that the enemy has great advantages 
for establishing winter-quarters, since the 
w^hole of Germany is its prey. If I had 
more troojDS with me on the banks of the 
Oder I would advance. But if all things 
do not go according to our desires, this is 
no reason why we should be discouraged. 
I recommend to your care, my family ; for 
many reasons it is worthy of interest. The 
mother has need of counsel ; the daughter, 
a tender child, will be exposed to many 
tribulations if she ever knows how to 
reign, to many perils if others wish to 
reign. I confide them both, their future, 
my life, and all that I possess in this 
world, into the sacred and powerful guar- 
dianship of God, who has given me all 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 91 

things. I am persuaded that all which 
may happen to me here on earth will al- 
ways be that which is best for me; and 
after this life, I hope to enjoy eternal peace 
and joy." 

In suspending the course of his victories, 
Gustavns Adolphus did not, however, re- 
main inactive. He completed the con- 
quest of Pomerania, in which two or three 
fortresses had refused to surrender, and 
advanced into Brandenburg, the key of 
Mecklenburg. Whenever he encountered 
the imperial troops he fought them, and 
so well maintained his positions, that Tilly, 
who h^d come hither to attack, drew back 
upon the Elbe, without daring to defend 
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, which the Swedes 
took by assault, toward the middle of 
winter, after a siege of three days. 

About this time Gustavus Adolphus, 
uncertain of the support of the Protestant 



92 GusTAvus Adolphus, 

princes of Germany, who feared for Ms in- 
fluence over their subjects, and looked upon 
him as a rival more than a friend, decided 
to accept of an alliance with France. The 
treaty was concluded, January 16, 1631, 
at Berwald in Brandenburg. Gustavus 
engaged to hold in Germany an army of 
thirty-six thousand men, destined to re- 
establish the Germanic empire upon the 
same footing as before the revolt of Bohe- 
mia and the Edict of Restitution. France, 
thereby hoping to put a boundary to the 
ever-increasing ambition of Austria, and to 
take from it the preponderance in Europe, 
gave an annual subsidy, and, wlat was 
worth more, the support of its name. 

In the meantime, Tilly, ashamed of hav- 
ing retreated from the Oder withom com- 
bat, had gone to besiege Magdeburg, vhich 
had already made common cause with 
Sweden. Gustavus Adolphus was not far 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 93 

from this city, and longed to fly to its 
rescue ; but his brother-in-law, the Elector 
of Brandenburg, and also the Elector of 
Saxony, ruled by selfish and jealous con- 
siderations, remained deaf to all the repre- 
sentations which he could make to them 
in the name of the liberties of Germany, 
of religion, and of humanity, and refused 
him a passage through their States. 

The King of Sweden hesitated to em- 
ploy force with two Protestant princes, one 
of whom, John George, Elector of Saxony, 
had instituted the formation of a new 
league in order to demand the revocation 
of the Edict of Kestitution, and while 
hesitating, Magdeburg, after a heroic resist- 
ance, fell under the power of the number 
of Tilly's men, re-inforced by Pappenheim's 
troops, and aided by traitors. This city, 
the richest of Germany, was delivered 
over to pillage, and was inundated in the 



94 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 




FALL OF MAGDEBURG. 

blood of its citizens. 
The scenes of carnage 
and barbarity enacted 
there have acquired 
in history a sad ce- 
lebrity. Schiller says, 
'^ Women were dishonored in the presence 
of dying husbands and fathers, . . . fifty- 
three young girls were beheaded in one 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 95 

church, whither they had fled for refuge. 
The Croatians laughed aloud as they cast 
little children into the midst of the flames, 
even while they stretched out to them 
their suppliant hands. The Walloons 
made sport of thrusting through the body 
nursino; babes, snatched from their moth- 
er's arms ! Twenty women cast themselves 
into the Elbe to escape the brutality of the 
soldiers." 

An eye-witness reported that several 
officers, horrified at the sight of so many 
atrocities, went and besought Tilly to put 
an end to them. He replied, "I have 
promised three days for pillaging and slay- 
ing. The soldiers must have some amuse- 
ment after so many fatigues." To crown 
these horrors, weary of their own excesses, 
the victors set fire to the houses, and, says 
the same eye-witness, "twelve hours had 
scarcely passed, when there remained no 



96 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

more of the vast and opulent city than 
two churches, a few huts, and smoldering 
ashes. . . . More than six thousand dead 
bodies were cast into the Elbe, and a still 
larger number must have been devoured 
by the flames ; for the total number of vic- 
tims sacrificed was over thirty thousand." 

This frightful tragedy petrified with 
fear the whole of Protestant Germany. 
The Jesuits, always ready to profit by cir- 
cumstances, tried to direct all the prejudice 
of it against Gustavus Adolphus, whom 
they accused of having abandoned Magde- 
burg, and of having sacrificed an important 
and devoted city to some special plan of 
a campaign. They hoped thus to with- 
draw from the King of Sweden the confi- 
dence and esteem of the Protestants. But 
Gustavus Adolphus had no difficulty in 
disproving these accusations. The facts al- 
ready mentioned sufficiently justified him. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 97 

If the city was destroyed, the hinderances 
and unjust distrusts of the Electors of 
Brandenburg and Saxony were the princi- 
pal causes. 

The innocence of Gustavus Adolphus 
shines out clearly in a letter sent to the 
Elector of Saxony at the moment when the 
city was threatened. " I see myself forced," 
wrote he, " to draw in my sails and to risk 
myself no further. It would be against 
aU military art, to put myself between two 
undecided powers, or abandon the streams 
by which my supplies arrive. However, 
I wish to show my solicitude for Magde- 
burg, and even at the sacrifice of my life, 
I wish to do all in my power for her deliv- 
erance. May God aid me by his grace, 
in making my perseverance triumph over 
you. I declare myself, before God and 
before men, innocent of that which may 
happen. I cast the responsibility upon 



98 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

those who, when Christianity is in dan- 
ger, have experienced no compunctions in 
abandoning me." 

The terror which the ruin of Magde- 
burg at first caused was not long in chang- 
ing into a legitimate indignation. Exas- 
perated by the ever-increasing rigors of the 
emperor, whose band became daily more 
cruel and oppressive, the Protestant princes 
saw no other means of escaping their mis- 
erable fate than by casting themselves into 
the arms of Gustavus iVdolphus. Most of 
them entered into an alliance with him. 
But the Elector of Brandenburg persisted 
in a neutrality too favorable to Austria to 
be long tolerated. The King of Sweden, 
after having exhausted all means of con- 
ciliation, camped his army before Berlin, 
declaring that the elector was no longer 
any thing but an enemy to him. At the 
sight of Swedish cannon, George William 



GusTAYUs Adolphus. 99 

consented to make a treaty with his broth- 
er-in-law. He consented to all the condi- 
tions that were proposed to him without 
modification. Gustavus was allowed to 
dispose of the fortresses as he wished, acd 
received also a contribution in money. 

During this time the hordes that had 
destroyed Magdeburg invaded Hesse Cas- 
sel and began similar works. The Thu- 
ringian country was also devastated by 
imperial troops, who seemed ever more and 
more devoured by the thirst for plunder 
and pleasure. Nothing could satiate so 
many brutal passions. The people near 
whom such soldiers were to pass were in 
consternation. 

Gustavus Adolphus, assured of the as- 
sistance of Brandenburg, no longer hesi- 
tated to advance. He rescued the Hessian 
territory, and found, in the prince who 
governed it, one of his best and most faith- 



100 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

ful allies. Without risking a decisive bat- 
tle with an enemy so superior in numbers, 
he, nevertheless, remained master of the 
ground. 

Tilly, after having wasted his time and 
forces before the Swedish camp, beat a 
retreat, and directed himself toward the 
territory of the Elector of Saxony, whose 
attitude and levying of troops were dis- 
approved of by Austria. Saxony was a 
rich bait for the imperials. Up to this 
time, she had been spared on account of 
the attachment of her prince to the house 
of Austria, and of the need Ferdinand had 
of retaining her on his side. And so it 
was with the avidity of a bird of prey, 
that Tilly and his bands lighted down on 
the Saxons. 

The frightened elector then sought a 
refuge under the powerful wing of the 
King of Sweden. He besought him to 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 101 

come to his aid. " I deplore," said Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, "the fate of the elector, 
liut he can accuse no one but himself for 
it. If he had sooner placed confidence in 
me, this thing would not have happened 
and Magdeburg would not have fallen. I 
am not now disposed to sacrifice the other 
German States to succor him. I cannot 
trust myself to a prince whose counselors 
are all in league with the emperor, and 
who will abandon me as soon as Austria 
flatters hira, or as soon as the imj^erial 
army shall have left his States." 

The marshal of the Elector of Arnheim, 
an able and cunning man, had been charged 
to make this delicate negotiation. He had 
orders to succeed at whatever price, and 
so, in spite of the severe and discouraging 
response which had just been given him, 
he redoubled his solicitations and obtained 

his wish, but under the hardest conditions. 

1 . 



102 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

The elector must deliver up the fortress of 
Wittenberg, which would put Gustavus 
in possession of the Elbe; he must ad- 
vance three months' pay for the Swedish 
soldiers; give over into his hands his coun- 
selors, and send his eldest son to him as 
a hostage. The elector granted all. Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, who only wished to prove 
his sincerity and the firmness of his resolu- 
tions, then suddenly changed his language. 
"Tell your master," said he to Arnheim, 
" that his distrust of me when I wished to 
succor Magdeburg liad awakened in me 
distrust of him; that the confidence he 
places in me to-day makes me forget the 
past. I ask of him only one month's pay 
for my troops, and I will soon make 
amends to him for this little sacrifice." 

The two princes finally signed a treaty 
of alliance and united their two armies. 
On the morning of September 16, 1631, 




Gustavus Addressing his Troops 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 105 

they found themselves face to face with 
the imperial army, near Leipsic. It was 
there that the two most illustrious generals 
of Europe, Gustavus Adolphus and Tilly, 
were to measure themselves in a battle 
which should decide not only on which 
side was the superiority, but the future of 
Protestantism and Catholicism. To the 
success of this day was attached much 
more than a high military reputation ; the 
very existence of the Reformation in Ger- 
many depended ujDon it. Gustavus Adol- 
phus well knew this, and he displayed, in 
the disposition of his troops, all the re- 
sources of his admirable genius. 

He said to his army, "The right is on 
your side. We battle not for the honors 
of this world, but for the Word and glory 
of God, for the true faith which alone 
can save us, the faith which the Catholics 
Lave cruelly oppressed, and which they 



106 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

would gladly blot out of existence; Let 
us not doubt that the Omnipotent One, 
who has conducted us thus far, in a man- 
ner so remarkable, through dangers of 
every sort, will now give unto us his effi- 
cient aid. . . ." 

After this general address to the men, 
he passed through the ranks, giving to 
every soldier words of encouragement and 
affection. Schiller has given of this battle, 
as of the taking of Magdeburg, a descrip- 
tion which has become celebrated : 

"Two million men," says he, "might 
have made this a more bloody day, but 
not more decisive. ... The resolution 
which Tillv had never lacked until then 
utterly failed him on that day. Without 
being decided to make battle with the 
king, he had not the firmness to avoid the 
conflict, and Paj)penheim drew him into it 
in spite of himself. . . . Never did so 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 1()7 

many dark presentiments show themselves 
on his ordinarily tranquil brow ; the ghost 
of Mao:debur2: seemed to have followed 
him to the plains of Leipsic. A cannon- 
ade of two hours opened the battle. A 
west wind blew with violence, and drove 
against the Swedes the powder-smoke and 
clouds of dust from the newly worked 
fields. Suddenly, Gustavus Adolphus made 
a general movement of his troops north- 
ward, and this maneuver was executed 
with such rapidity that the enemy had no 
time to prevent it. 

"Finally, Tilly abandoned his positions 
and attacked the Swedes; but being re- 
ceived by the most violent fire, he wheeled 
suddenly to the right, and fell upon the 
Saxons, whom he put to flight. . . . Pap- 
penheim attacked with his cavalry the 
right wing of the Swedes, but without 
any effect ; Gustavus Adolphus commanded 



108 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

tbem in person. Seven times Pappenheini 
returned to the charge; seven times was 
he repulsed. He finally took to flight, 
leaving the battle-field to the conqueror. 
In the meantime, Tilly, after having routed 
the remainder of the Saxons, threw him- 
self with all his force against the left wing 
of the Swedes. But Gnstavus Adolphus 
had had the presence of mind to send three 
regiments, in all haste, to re-inforce it, and 
thus cover his own flank, exposed by the 
flight of the Saxons. . . . 

"Already the enemy had begun to fold 
back upon itself, when the king himself 
appeared to decide the victory. Scarcely 
had he put to flight the left wing, than he 
directed his army corps and that of Gen- 
eral Teufel toward the heights on which 
Tilly liad placed his artillery. He seized 
them after a short struggle, and the enemy 
had to endure the fire of their own cannon. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 109 

Its flank, battered by the artillery, and 
exposed, in front, to the impetuous charges 
of the Swedes, the imperial army, called 
the invincible, finally broke. Tilly was 
obliged to order a retreat ; but this retreat 
could only be made through the ranks of 
the vanquished. Suddenly a general dis- 
order seized the imperial army; it disband- 
ed and fled. Four regiments alone, com- 
posed of old soldiers, who had never turned 
their back to an enemy, kept in order and 
opposed a brazen wall to the redoubled 
attacks of the Swedes. . . . Convinced of 
the inutility of a longer resistance, and 
reduced to six hundred men, they with- 
drew from the battle field, which, from this 
moment, was no longer disputed against 
the Swedes ; their victory was complete." 

Gustavus Adolphus threw himself on 
his knees, in the midst of the dead and 
wounded, and, surrounded by his men, 



110 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

poured forth aloud his gratitude to God, 
in an ardent prayer, for his wonderful tri- 
umph. Then, mounting his horse, and 
passing from rank to rank, he thanked his 
brave soldiers. 

The same day he sent the news to his 
chancellor and his kingdom, in these sim- 
ple words : " Although we have to deplore 
the loss of many brave men, we should be- 
fore all and above all, thank God for his 
divine protection ; for we were never in so 
great danger." 

This never failing disposition to look 
upon the bright side, keeps ever in our 
view the Christian in the hero. This is 
the secret of that continual joy which one 
of his historians so much admires, and 
which St. Paul recommends as one of the 
most precious of faith's privileges, and as 
the purest reflection of Christian charity. 




CHAPTER V. 

His sojourn at Frankfort — His entrance into Nuremberg — Bat- 
tle of the Lech. 

THE results of tlie victory at Leipsic 
were immense. That day, Gustavus 
Adolphus gathered the fruit of more than 
a year's labors and fatigues, of many un- 
important struggles, and of privations of 
every kind. The reunited forces of the 
Catholic League and of the emperor were 
annihilated. Of a formidable army, there 
remained no more than two thousand 
combatants, and Tilly was disgraced and 
discouraged by an irreparable misfortune. 
" Gustavus," says Michelet, " could do 
what he wished, could go whithersoever it 
seemed to him good." The Swedish tor- 



112 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

rent had swept all the dikes which Austria 
opposed to it, and nothing could longer 
arrest it. 

But the Swedish king showed his noble 
character by acts still grander than his 
victory. His first thought, after having 
rendered thanks to God, was a thought 
of reparation and justice. From Halle, 
whither he had followed and dispersed the 
remainder of the hostile army, he wrote 
a letter, dated September 17, in which he 
desired his chancellor to rejoin him, in 
order to oversee the reparations which he 
wished to have made to his despoiled breth- 
ren in the faith. He maintained unrelaxed 
discipline among his soldiers, as to order 
and religious observances. Every morn- 
ing, after prayer, they sang a hymn that 
the king especially loved, and which ex- 
presses in a simple, faithful manner the 
condition of a Christian soul before God. 



GusTAvus Adolpiius. 113 

The following are a few of the stanzas, 
with a loss of beauty in translating : 

" O Eternal One, this morning, as dur- 
ing my whole life, I wish to praise thee, 
and to send up, even to thy throne, the 
homage of a grateful heart. 

" It is thou, O my God, who, during the 
night just past, hast helped me by thy 
grace, and preserved me from harm and 
danger. I humbly pray thee to forgive 
the sins which fill my days and merit thy 
wrath. 

" It is to God that I would leave the di- 
rection of all my affairs ; for he alone can 
accomplish all. 

"It is he who blesses my actions, my 
hopes, and gives me my success. It is into 
his hands who gave, that I replace my 
body, my soul, my life, and all that he has 
given. Let him do according to his good 
pleasure. 



114 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

" And now I say amen, in the assiii^ance 
that God will do all for the best. My 
arm is still extended, and I am ready to 
continue the work he has confided to me, 
at the post, and in the career where he has 
placed me." 

How touching the spectacle of a camp 
where both commander and commanded 
have such a reveille ! 

At Halle, Gnstavus divided his army. 
He charged his ally, the Elector of Saxony, 
to penetrate into Bohemia, impatient to 
shake off the imperial yoke. He set to 
himself the task of conquering all of west- 
ern Germany, in order to deprive Austria 
of the rich countries from whence she drew 
her greatest resources, and to smother the 
Catholic League in its several centers. 

Even the Catholics, victims, like the 
Protestants, of the cupidity and bad treat- 
ment of the imperials, received Gustavus 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 115 

as a liberator. His marcli from Halle 
even to the Khine was, indeed, triumphal. 
In Thuringia he found a new ally, the 
Duke of Saxe- Weimar, who soon became 
one of his ablest generals. He took the 
severest measures to prevent all abuse of 
power among his officers, and of excess 
among his soldiers. He v^ished to show 
himself the more moderate and just, where 
it might naturally not be expected — in a 
country whose faith he rejected, and which 
had ever been hostile to his cause. 

The irreproachable conduct of his army 
inspired admiration and confidence. A 
historian relates that a Swede, forgetting 
the example of his comrades and the com- 
mands of his general, was on his way to 
camp with a cow that he had taken from 
a peasant, when a strong hand was laid 
upon his shoulder. He turned and saw 
that it was none other than his good gen- 



116 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 




GUSTAVUR ARRESTIXG A PLUXBERER. 

eral, who said to him, in a firm tone, but 
with a look of fraternal pity, " My son, my 
son, you must go to be judged." The 
penalty for such offenses was death. 

At the approach of the Swedish troops 
the Bishop of Wurtzburg, one of the most 
ardent and active enemies of Protestantism 
and a member of the Catholic League, fled, 
and left his followers without defense and 
without a chief, to the mercy of a powerful 
and offended army. The capital of this 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 117 

archbishopric, Wurtzburg, made no at- 
tempt at resistance and submitted imme- 
diately. The other cities of this State 
followed its example. Gustavns Adol- 
phus regarded as his own a country which 
its ruler had abandoned. Inviting the 
local authorities to swear allegiance to him, 
he immediately organized a government, 
composed of an equal number of Catholics 
and Protestants. He rendered back to the 
latter their possessions and opened their 
places of worship, but left the Catholics 
also in possession of the same freedom, 
and, as an historian expresses it, " avenged 
by not a single retaliation^ the long and 
cruel oppression to which the Protestants 
had been subjected." 

He practiced the same tolerance every- 
where, and thus had the imperishable 
honor of being the first prince who com- 
prehended the grand principle of liberty 



118 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

of worship, and, in the midst even of a 
war, kindled by religious fanaticism, he 
proclaimed in Europe the sacred rights of 
conscience. And so, even from the testi- 
mony of a Catholic, so much uprightness 
and gentleness disarmed the most invet- 
erate hatred, and Gustavus was, for the 
greater part of the Catholics, if not a savior, 
as he was for the Protestants, at least a 
just and good master, who respected their 
rights and preserved their liberties. 

At the taking of a certain Catholic city 
his officers urged him to use some severity 
toward the inhabitants, who had been very 
hostile to him and at times very cruel 
to the Protestants. The king replied, "I 
have come to break the chains of bondage 
and not to forge new ones. Let them 
live as they have lived." 

Surrounded by affectionate Protestant 
populations, and accepted by even the 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 119 

Catholic countries, Gustavus Adolphus was 
in a sure way of success, and Germany 
stood no longer in his way. The hinder- 
ance to a perfect success came from else- 
where. Richelieu, who had wished to 
diminish the power and influence of Aus- 
tria, trembled at seeing the increasing 
grandeur of the King of Sweden. A pre- 
ponderance of the Protestant party suc- 
ceeded to that of the Austrians. Over the 
ruins of the old empire there would rise, 
perhaps, a new empire, whose head would 
be the greatest general of the epoch. This 
peril which threatened all Europe with a 
revolution must be averted. Richelieu, 
ally as he was, became almost an enemy of 
Gustavus Adolphus. He declared himself 
protector of the German Catholic princes, 
and, as regarded them, declared himself 
neutral; thus offering them the means of 
arming themselves for Austria, while pre- 

8 



120 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

tending to take sides with no one. He 
thus awakened, by his intrigues and infidel- 
ity, the jealousy of the Protestant princes, 
£iid caused them to have fears of finding a 
master in one who proclaimed himself their 
friend. The northern hero was again to 
find himself alone, as at his arrival in Ger- 
many. However, he pursued his march, 
and in a very short time conquered Fran- 
conia. Arrived before Frankfort-on-the- 
Main, he found an unexpected resistance. 
This opulent and populous city had ever 
been attached to the imperials on account 
of commercial privileges which accrued to 
it through them. Its fairs had great celeb- 
rity, and it feared to lose much if it should 
open its gates to the Swedes. Summoned 
to surrender, it sent a deputation to the 
king to explain the embarrassment of its 
position, and its wholly material reasons 
for not being favorable to him. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 121 

Gustavus Adolphus was indignant. " I 
am astonished," said he, "to learn that 
Frankfort prizes more highly its wealth, 
than it does the duties which religion and 
patriotism impose upon it; it is, indeed, 
little to its honor to talk of its sale-shops 
and its fairs when the liberty of Germany 
and the future of the Reformation are at 
stake. Moreover, from the Isle of Rligen 
to the banks of the Rhine, I have found 
the keys of all the fortresses ; I can also find 
those of Frankfort. It is for the well-being 
of Germany, and for the independence of 
the Protestant faith, that I do battle; no 
obstacle can stop me, for I am conscious of 
the justice and nobleness of my cause. I see 
plainly that the inhabitants of Frankfort 
think it sufficient to extend to me a finger, 
but I must have the entire hand; on this 
condition alone will I protect them." 

These frank and energetic words opened 



122 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

the gates ; and Gnstavus Adolphus entered 
Frankfort with the pomp of an emperor 
who, according to ancient usage, was about 
to be crowned. " During his short sojourn 
in that city," says Schiller, " he ceased not 
to receive visits of princes and embassa- 
dors who came to pay homage to his glory, 
to appease his wrath, or to implore his as- 
sistance." These brilliant displays were 
displeasing to the Queen, Maria Eleanor, 
and to the chancellor, Oxenstiern, both of 
whom had come to rejoin, the one, her be- 
loved husband, the other, his prince and 
friend. Under all these outside protesta- 
tions of friendship, the former, guided by 
her womanly tenderness and instinct, the 
latter by his long experience and pru- 
dence in business affairs, had discovered the 
distrust and envy that Gustavus inspired 
in all these sovereigns, and the discord 
that reigned among themselves. 



GusTAVUs Adolphus. 123 

Nor did the king himself fail to read his 
allies; and he was deeply afflicted with 
what he discovered in them, if not indeed 
cast down. It was a real sorrow to him 
to see the noble cause which he was de- 
fending, compromised every moment for 
petty, trivial, and personal interests. One 
day, before several assembled princes, he 
said, with some bitterness, "I am inclined 
to make peace, if we may have honorable 
conditions, which will assure the well-be- 
ing of the Protestant princes and their 
oppressed subjects; for it was with this 
end in view that I undertook this war for 
which I have shed my blood. But, know 
this, first of all, that I will never conclude 
a peace like the preceding, (that of Lli- 
beck,) which sacrificed the honor of the 
Protestant princes, placed their unfor- 
tunate subjects under an iron yoke, and 
gravely compromised our religion." 



124 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

The Landgrave George of Hesse Darm- 
stadt was among tlie number that hung 
around the Mug at Frankfort. It was his 
ambition to bring together the two parties. 
He held secret relations with the emperor, 
at the same time that he appeared to be 
greatly attached to the King of Sweden. 

Gustavus Adolphus one day said, in the 
presence of this prince, "If the emperor 
does not trouble me, I will not trouble 
him; your lordship can tell him so, for I 
know that you are a good subject of the 
emperor. 

The landgrave, somewhat in confusion, 
stammered out some words of justification. 
" When a man," said the king, " gives you 
thirty thousand thalers a year, you may 
well afford to be his friend. If I should 
make such a gift, the man would, indeed, 
have to merit it." 

But Gustavus had to do, not only with 



GusTAVUs Adolphus. 125 

traitors, but he saw himself exposed, as in 
Pomerania, to the assassin's blade. One 
evening an individual was found in his 
chamber, armed. He was seized, and 
proved to be a Catholic priest of Ant- 
werp. About the same time, it was said 
that a Jesuit, for two successive Sabbaths, 
encouraged his hearers to pray for the suc- 
cess of a project which God and one man 
alone knew, and whose aim was to insure 
repose to the Roman Church. 

Under these circumstances, the friends 
of the king besought him to be more upon 
his guard than he had ever been, to insure 
his personal safety. "A king," replied 
Gustavus, " cannot live shut up in a box. 
The wicked have not so much power as 
ill-will, and confidence in God is the best 
safeguard. Then I do not consider this 
danger to be so formidable. Besides, if 
the project of this man had succeeded, the 



126 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

loss of me would not have caused you so 
much misfortune as you believed, for God 
knows perfectly well how long he wishes 
to employ my frail arm. If I fall, he will 
raise up another instrument more worthy 
and more powerful than I. His work 
does not depend upon the life of one man." 
His friends insisting still that he should 
take some precautions, "Will you then," 
replied he, " that I should learn to distrust 
Providence ? " 

Urged by Eichelieu, Gustavus Adolphus 
consented to make peace with Bavaria. 
He promised not to march upon their ter- 
ritory, provided they should restore to the 
Protestants the property of which they 
had deprived them, and allow them lib- 
erty of worship. 

Maximilian, in order to gain time, en- 
tered into a conference with the King of 
Sweden; but during the negotiations, he 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 127 

prepared himself for war, aod concerted 
with Ferdinand to attack the Swedes. A 
letter which he wrote to Pappenheim was 
intercepted, and Gusta\rus, indignant at 
this false play, warned France of it and 
declared that he would invade Bavaria. 
On hearing of this determination, Pope 
Urban YIII. said, "The King of Sweden 
has chosen the wiser and surer part. He 
would commit a great mistake if he should 
turn elsewhere before having conquered 
Maximilian." 

While awaiting a favorable moment 
Gustavus Adolphus crossed the Rhine, 
vainly opposed by the Spaniards, and, on 
December 13, 1631, Mayence, after four 
days of siege, opened to him its gates. He 
stopped a short time in the city, leaving 
the conquest of the surrounding country 
to some of his generals. 

His repose was of no long duration. 



128 GusTAVus Adolphus. 

Kecalled into Franconia by the success of 
Tilly, who had driven the Swedish troops 
from the Bishopric of Bamberg, and was 
marching upon Nuremberg, he hastened to 
meet the Bavarian general, and forced him 
to withdraw toward the Danube. 

He thus reached Nuremberg, March 21, 
where he was received with great enthusi- 
asm. He entered with a simple escort of 
Swedish dragoons, having left his army at 
some distance from the city. The generals 
and German princes whom he had rescued 
accompanied him. The magistrates and 
principal citizens went to meet him and to 
offer him the keys, as a sign of obedience 
and fidelitv. The streets were filled with 
an applauding and enthusiastic crowd. 
The thunder of cannon and the ringing of 
bells mingled with the loud acclamations 
of the people. This enthusiastic welcome 
deeply moved the heart of the king. He 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 129 

was in tbe center of Germany, in one of 
the most powerful cities of the empire, 
among a people of his own faith, and one 
that had long been devoted to his cause. 
The future smiled hopefully toward him, 
and he, with all that happy population, 
thanked God from the depths of his heart, 
and responded very affectingly to all these 
demonstrations of which he was the honored 
object. All eyes overflowed with tears. 

When the king came to the apartments 
destined for him, he was presented with 
the gifts which the city had prepared for 
him. They consisted of considerable sums 
of money and of two silver globes of 
wonderful workmanship. Gustavus then 
addressed to the mao:istrates and citizens 
the following words, which were soon 
spread abroad by thousands of printed 
copies : 

"I thank you, both you and your city, 



130 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

for these rich gifts. I can wisli you noth- 
ing better in return than perseverance in 
the evangelical faith. Let nothing turn 
you from it ; neither threats, nor promises, 
nor any of the passions to which human 
nature is subject. You have presented me 
with the emblems of heaven and earth; 
let not the riches of earth make you foi'- 
getful of the still more precious treasures 
of heaven. This favor I beseech God for 
you. You have wicked and wily enemies, 
whose aim is the annihilation of Protest- 
antism. Their hope is to found a peace 
upon the ruin of all Protestants, and they 
seek their end by the destruction of 
millions of souls. God has confided to 
you the administration of an opulent and 
powerful city. ... I doubt not that you 
so govern it as not to fear to give the 
account which you will, one day, have to 
render at the tribunal of God. 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 131 

"Your city, up to tMs time, has been 
miraculously preserved from the dangers 
and persecutions which surround and beset 
it. I, too, have been the object of a not 
less wonderful ^^rotection since setting my 
feet on these shores. ... In the misfor- 
tunes of those professing the Protestant 
faith around you, as well as in your own 
sufferings, God has aimed to make us feel 
how much we are sinners. For you, for 
the defense of the Gospel, I left my peace- 
ful home and came into your agitated 
country. I have sacrificed the resources 
of my poor subjects, their blood, my life, 
and the love of my family. I will do for 
you all that the grace of God will give me 
power to do. On your side, be willing to 
suffer for awhile, if need be, for our sacred 
cause. Kemain faithful to it. Then God 
will bless you ; he will cause your city to 
flourish. His name will be every-where 



132 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

revered, and after the glory and honor of 
earth, will come that of heaven." 

After having dined, the king departed 
from the city in the midst of a population 
still more enthusiastic than at his entrance. 
In order to perpetuate the memory of his 
visit, they multiplied his features on cloth 
and in bronze. Poesy chanted his virtues, 
and the following are some stanzas writ- 
ten on that occasion, bearing the biblical 
stamp and coloring, found in almost all 
Protestant authors of that epoch : 

" With delight he enters here, this war- 
rior adorned with so many virtues, whom 
old and young have for so long a time de- 
sired ; the good King of Sweden, our glori- 
ous protector ; with delight he enters here 
for the welfare of us all. 

"With delight he enters here, this new 
Gideon, whose brow is radiant; this sec- 
ond Joshua, the dear and invincible hero, 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 133 

whose triumphs are known in all the 
world. 

" With delight he enters here, that one 
who directs the battles of the Lord ; this 
other David who has brought Goliath 
low ; this valiant man whose heart is with- 
out fraud, and who seeks only the glory 
of God. Where is there an object more 
worthy of admiration ! " 

On leaving Nuremberg, Gustavus pre- 
sented himself and his army before Dona- 
werth, noted for the misfortunes which its 
ardent zeal for the Reformation had drawn 
upon it. A strong Bavarian garrison de- 
fended it, but it could not resist the im- 
petuosity of the Swedes. The evangelical 
worship w^as soon re-established there. 

The king now found himself on the 
frontiers of Bavaria and was master of the 
Danube. The little river Lech was the 
only barrier separating him from the States 



134 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

of Maximilian, from tlie boulevard of Ca- 
tholicism in Germany. ' 

Protected by tliis river, whicli the melt- 
ing of the snows, accumulated upon the 
mountains of the Tyrol, had converted 
into a raging torrent, the Bavarians, under 
the leadership of Tilly and of their duke, 
seemed to defy all efforts of the enemy. 
The bravest and most skillful Swedish 
generals regarded this position as invul- 
nerable, and any attack as dangerous folly. 
Gustavus Horn, illustrious through recent 
triumphs, opposed with more energy than 
all the others this perilous undertaking. 
" How," cried the king, " we have crossed 
the Baltic, we have passed all the great 
rivers of Germany, and shall we stop now 
before a miserable little rivulet like the 
Lech?" 

Having himself been out to reconnoiter, 
and that at the peril of his life, his eagle- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 135 

glance marked for him immediately the 
spot where he could effect a passage and 
engage in conflict. He marked that the 
shores of the Lech were not of equal height 
on both sides. This would give an advan- 
tage to the Swedish artillery, which could 
be so placed as to command the Bavarian 
camp. With an unheard of audacity and 
address he succeeded in throwing a bridge 
across the river, and, on A^^ril 5, after a hot 
struggle, he put the Bavarians to flight, 
and the old Tilly, mortally wounded, had 
to take the young and victorious Gustavus 
as the minister of divine justice, who was 
chosen to punish him for the atrocities 
committed at Magdeburg. 

When the king saw closely the enemies' 
camp and the admirable intrenchments 
which defended it, he said, " If I had been 
in the place of this Bavarian I should 

have rather had my beard shot away 

9 



136 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

by a bullet than liave abandoned snch a 
position." 

This victory opened Bavaria to Gus- 
tavus Adolphus. He conld enter it with- 
out fear; but he desired first to deliver 
Augsburg, that city around which hung, 
for every Protestant, so many dear remem- 
brances. The Edict of Restitution had 
deprived the inhabitants of the liberty of 
worship, and put a Catholic administration 
at their head ; so that Protestant Germany 
had the sorrow of seeing the Confession of 
Augsburg outraged, even in its cradle. 

Gustavus Adolphus drove out the Ba- 
varian garrison which occupied the city, 
and replaced the Catholic authorities by a 
Protestant magistracy, which swore fidelity 
to him. Then he and his cortege directed 
themselves toward one of the churches 
which he had devoted to the reform wor- 
ship. Here, his chaplain, Doctor Fabri- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 137 

cms, preached from Psa. xii, 5 : " For the 
oppression of the poor, for the sighing of 
the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord ; 
I will set him in safety from him that 
puffeth at him." After the sermon the one 
hundred and third Psalm was sung, with 
a beautiful accompaniment. 

It was not without great emotion that 
the citizens of Augsburg chanted this 
psalm, which expressed so well the senti- 
ments of gratitude with which their hearts 
were filled, and which depicted, so to 
speak, their own deliverance. Several 
days were passed in feasts and public 
rejoicing. 





CHAPTER VI. 

Last Campaigns of Gustavus Adolphus. 

Siege of Ingolstadt — Conquest of Bavaria — Expedition of Wal- 
lenstein against Nuremberg. 

MAXIMILIAN, after his defeat, fled 
behind the walls of Ingolstadt. Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, tearing himself away from 
the pleasures of Augsburg, resolved to 
take that fortress, in order to have a good 
point for finishing the destruction of the 
Bavarian army. But the bravery of the 
garrison, aided by the troops of Maximil- 
ian and the strength of the ramparts, frus- 
trated his attempts. 

The king came near losing his life there- 
by. He was examining the works of the 
enemy when a twenty-four pounder swept 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 139 

his horse from under him, entangling him 
somewhat in its fall. Those who sur- 
rounded him uttered a cry of fright and 
flew to his side, fearing to find a corpse. 
Gustavus arose, at the same moment, cov- 
ered with blood and dust, and said, "The 
apple is not yet rijper His horse was 
dead, and his young friend, the Margrave 
of Baden, who was near him, had his head 
shot off a few moments after. On his re- 
turn to camp, the king was congratulated 
by his officers on account of his own safety, 
wdiile they regretted the premature death 
of the young margrave. The king replied, 
"The death of the margrave and the bullet 
which passed so near me recall to my mind 
this ancient decree : ' Man, thou shalt die ! ' 
Neither my high birth, nor my royal 
crown, nor my w^eapons, nor my many 
victories, can save me from it. I submit 
to the will of God; if he takes me from 



140 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

the world, lie will not abandon the sacred 
cause which I defend." 

The king, like all true disciples of Christ, 
often thought of the end of life, and pre- 
pared himself earnestly to be ready to 
meet his Judge. He knew that only a 
breath separates time from eternity, and 
that death is but the beginning of a new 
life. The prestiges of pomp and grandeur 
had not so dazzled him as to make him 
forget his frailty, and the account that he 
would have to settle beyond the tomb. 
The cloud of glory that hung over him 
had not hidden heaven out of his sight. 
This is proved by that deep humility, that 
constant recognition of his sins, that con- 
tinual recourse to the grace of God, which 
we have so often remarked in his words 
and conduct. The farther he advanced in 
life the more he occupied himself with the 
salvation of his soul, and the more he pre- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 141 

pared himself not to be surj)rised at the 
coming of his Master. We may almost 
think that a presentiment of the future 
abided ever with him. 

After leaving Ingolstadt, Gnstavus Adol- 
phus took the Bavarian road and marched 
straight for Munich. France had sent an 
embassador to stop him. "Truly," said 
Louis XIII., "it is time to put a limit to 
the enterprises of this Goth." But to all 
argumentation in favor of Maximilian and 
of his pretended neutrality, the King of 
Sweden replied, "I knov^ too well the 
Elector of Bavaria; he wears a double 
cloak, and, according to circumstances, he 
turns out the red or the blue. . . . This 
time I will not be entrapped." The em- 
bassador, then passing from soliciting to 
threats, talked loudly of the powerful mili- 
tary forces of France, which could, he said, 
abandon Sweden to herself, and furnish 



142 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

Bavaria witli forty thousand men. "If 
France withdraws from me her alliance," im- 
mediately said Gustavus Adolphus, "then 
I shall have that of the Turks, and the 
Turks are not worse allies than the papists. 
In any event, I know that I can count 
upon the aid of the All Powerful, and that 
it is He who has sent me into Germany." 

In spite, then, of Louis XIII. the Goth 
advanced upon the Bavarian territory, with- 
out meeting a single soldier to dispute his 
passage. But fanaticism had been so ex- 
cited by the clergy, that every Bavarian 
considered it as a sacred duty to preserve 
his country from the impure contact of the 
heretics. For them, the King of Sweden 
was Antichrist, and in their prayers they 
besought God to preserve them from the 
Swedish demon. To slay a Swede was 
thought a meritorious act, no matter how 
accomplished. Bands of the peasantry 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 143 

were formed, and woe to the soldier who 
fell into their hands. Romish fanaticism 
has ever known how to invent new and 
varied tortures. In Bavaria, as in Spain, 
it had the genius of cruelty. 

Gustavus Adolphus, at the sight of these 
horrors, felt his blood boil with indigna- 
tion, and thoughts of vengeance presented 
themselves before him. But he soon con- 
quered these feelings, and instead of mal- 
treating these madmen who were making 
martyrs of his soldiers, and taking him for 
an agent of Satan, he proved to them, by 
his goodness and patience, that he was 
more Christian and less heretic than they. 
He watched more closely than ever to 
maintain perfect army discipline, and met 
the most bitter hatred by the most inex- 
haustible clemency. 

At Landshut, as soon as the Swedish 
army appeared under the walls, the garri- 



144 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

son fled and the inhabitants concealed 
themselves, in order to escape a treatment 
which they looked upon as just and inevi- 
table. Ke-assnred by the peaceful attitude 
of their victors, struck with the mildness 
and order which reigned in their ranks, 
they came forth, and the chiefs of the 
authorities fell at the king's feet, and en- 
treated him for their lives and for the lives 
of the inhabitants. Gustavns replied to 
them, '' When 1 think of the cruelties that 
you have perpetrated on my soldiers, I 
may truly ask myself whether you are men 
or ferocious beasts, and I scarcely know 
how to have compassion on you." He 
wished to make no promises, and departed 
from the city, which kept a death-like si- 
lence, without having made any decision. 
The sky was covered with clouds, and 
while setting out, the king was dazzled 
by a vivid flash of lightning, followed by 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 145 

a fearful clap of thunder. This incident 
called to the mind of the king the living 
God, who does not pardon those who will 
not pardon, and Landshut was only con- 
demned to pay a contribution to help carry 
on the war. 

From Landshut, Gustavus Adolphus 
went toward Munich, which city he en- 
tered May 7, 1632, with his usual cortege 
of princes and Swedish generals. Fred- 
erick, the unhappy King of Bohemia, was 
by his side and saw his most cruel enemy 
meet with an adversity similar to what had 
befallen himself when, ten years before, 
Maximilian invaded Bohemia, and drove 
him from his capital. Now he, in his turn, 
was exiled from his estates, and Frederick 
sat down triumphant in his palace. What 
a striking example of the instability and 
changeability of human affairs ! At dinner, 
Gustavus remarked to Frederick, "After 



146 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

such unexpected revolutions, you may yet 
hope to dine, in peace and repose, one day, 
in your own capitoI" 

Many sought to induce the king to 
avenge upon this city the sacking of Mag- 
deburg. He refused to gratify this feeling 
of cruel revenge, and forbade, under pain 
of death, any destruction or molestation 
of the inhabitants. This conduct concili- 
ated the minds of all. No one could help 
rendering homage to so generous an adver- 
sary. Even the Jesuits praised his nobil- 
ity of soul. Toward the latter, Gustavus 
manifested an extreme clemency. He not 
only did not expel them, but he visited 
them in their convent. The Superior ad- 
dressed him with a speech in Latin, exalting 
his eminent qualities. The king replied 
in the same language, and engaged in a 
discussion on the subject of the sacrament. 
He vigorously sustained the evangelical 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 147 

doctrines upon this important point, with- 
out once departing from language of the 
most perfect courtesy, or failing to show a 
sincere respect for the opinions of his an- 
tagonists. His old generals complained 
of so much complaisance, and said, "The 
king would do better to put to flight these 
Jesuits, than to discuss with them thus." 

Gustavus divined their thoughts, and 
on leaving the convent he pleasantly re- 
marked, 

" Why would you persecute these men ? 
Do you not see how much they injure the 
cause which they defend, and how much 
they help on the one which they oppose ? " 

Wise words, and full of meaning, which 
contain a lesson by which we, in our times, 
as well as the King of Sweden in his, 
might profit. 

Gustavus Adolphus did not remain long 
in Munich, whose magnificence he much 



148 GusTAYus Adolphus. 

admired, and whicli, on account of its arid 
surroundings, he called a golden saddle on 
a poor liorse. 

Wallenstein, at the head of a large army, 
was coming to meet him. Already, Gus- 
tavus possessed in Germany, Franconia, the 
Electorate of Mayence, a part of Swabia, 
and Bavaria; and his ally, the Elector of 
Saxony, had just taken Bohemia from the 
emperor. The different generals held well 
their conquests. The Catholic League was 
dissolved, and Austria lay open on all 
sides. Ferdinand was trembling at Vienna. 
He had no more troops, nor even a general. 
The enemy was approaching. He now 
humbled himself before the haughty Duke 
of Friedland, and in a few months forty 
thousand men were ready to defend him, 
under the command of the greatest general 
of the empire. Wallenstein began the 
campaign by expelling the Saxons from 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 149 

Boliemia. By the end of May there was 
not a single Saxon soldier left in the coun- 
try. Maximilian then conjured the victor 
to save his States, and, like Ferdinand, 
humbly besought succor from, and put 
himself at the mercy of, the man whom he 
had previously disgraced. The Duke of 
Friedland, after this event, said to his 
officers, "Finally, I have constrained my 
mortal enemy to implore my pardon and 
my support. I am avenged for all the evil 
he has caused me." 

The two armies united amounted to 
sixty thousand men, and the Swedes were 
only twenty thousand, when it was ru- 
mored that Wallenstein proposed to attack 
Nuremberg. If Gustavus had only list- 
ened to the cold counsels of selfishness, in- 
stead of gathering up his troops dispersed 
about Germany, he w^ould have avoided 
meeting the enemy, and abandoned Nu- 



150 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

remberg to its own resources. But the 
terrible fate of Magdeburg was not effaced 
from his memory, and he decided to perish 
with his little army, rather than expose a 
city from which he had received such ar- 
dent affection and devotion, to the fury of 
the savage imperials. He did not hesitate, 
but hastened to make all possible prepara- 
tion against danger. On arriving, he made 
haste to surround the city with a fortified 
camp, which formed a second rampart, and 
gave a place for lodging the soldiers with- 
out inconveniencing the inhabitants. Aid- 
ed by the anxious zeal of the citizens and 
neighboring peasantry, the soldiers soon 
made ready their immense works. The 
magistrates made all efforts to collect an 
abundance of provisions, and to organize a 
numerous guard of citizens, which should 
maintain order or contribute to a defense. 
"Nuremberg," said Gustavus, "is the 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 151 

apple of my eye, and I will defend it with 
all my power." There was a most com- 
plete union between soldiers and inhabit- 
ants. The people sang, "Nuremberg, thou 
ornament of the empire, the enemy has 
sworn thy destruction. But God has looked 
upon thee with a compassionate eye, and 
has sent thee, from Sweden, a father. There 
he is, yonder under the vault of heaven, 
which, with his troop of heroes, watches 
over thee. Let nothing be found wanting 
by them. Thy safety depends upon them. 
Magdeburg now wishes that she had done 
yet more for her defense; but prudence 
often comes too late, and after the whole 
evil is accomplished." 

It was with such feelings of confidence 
and mutual sympathy that they prepared 
to receive the enemy. And they waited not 
long. But instead of attacking the city, 
Wallenstein established his camp opposite 



152 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

to it, at less than a league's distance from 
that of the Swedes, and in an impregnable 
position. "Up to the present we have 
had enough battles," said he; "I wish to 
teacli the King of Sweden another mode 
of warfare." 

He hoped to conquer the Swedes by 
starving them. He was ignorant of the 
resources that the city had furnished for 
its defenders, and had not foreseen that he 
and his army might be the first to suffer 
from the scourge which he wished to draw 
upon the enemy. The inhabitants of the 
country around had fled, and borne all 
away with them. The Duke of Friedland, 
not findiug any thing for the feeding of his 
army, was obliged to send to his ally, the 
Elector of Bavaria, for provisions. In 
order to supply their daily wants, the im- 
perials disputed with the Swedes the little 
provisions that yet remained in the coun- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 153 

try. Hence there followed frequent skir- 
mishes, in which there was but little profit, 
and a loss of time and men. The two 
armies were thus exhausting themselves in 
these fruitless struggles. Want began to 
be felt on both sides, and contagion fol- 
lowed in its train. So, only a few days 
after the arrival of a re-inforcement of 
forty thousand men, sent by Oxenstiern, 
August 24, Gustavus Adolphus resolved 
to attack the imperials in their camp, since 
they refused battle. He hoped thus to 
escape that slow agony which had been 
diminishing the strength of his valiant 
army for three months. 

But the heights occupied by Wallen- 
stein hurled out death by the mouths of 
several hundred cannon, while .the assail- 
ants made the most desperate efforts to 
pass over that barrier of bullets and fire. 
Exposed on all sides to the fire of an 



154 GusTAVus Adolphus. 

enemy admirably sheltered beliind its in- 
trenchments, the Swedes gained no inch 
of space except to lose it a moment after. 
The combat was terrible. Wallenstein had 
his horse killed from under him, and a 
cannon-ball grazed the sole of the boot 
of the king. The battle raged with fury 
until night. Gust ay us had two thousand 
men less, and Wallenstein yet held his 
position. The Swedish troops withdrew 
in good order, the enemy not daring to fol- 
low them. 

The war of famine began afresh ; and 
the laws of discipline were broken, even in 
the Swedish camp. The German troops 
first set the example, and the rest of the 
army found the aggravation of their suffer- 
ings sufficient reason for imitating them. 
On hearing, through the complaints of the 
maltreated peasantry, that his soldiers were 
tarnishing their ancient reputation, and 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 155 

causing the name Swede, which had ever 
before been so much loved, to be now 
hated, Gustavus was grievously afflicted, 
and his displeasure fell upon the first au- 
thors of these disorders. He called too;ether 
the German princes and their officers. He 
then talked to them with an extraordinary 
measure of severity : 

" Complaints are coming to me from all 
sides," said he. " concernino^ the conduct of 
our troops. The peo|)le say that their 
friend, the King of Sweden, is doing them 
more evil than their implacable enemy, 
Wallenstein. The Swedes, say they, make 
war like the Croatians. These reproaches 
afflict my heart above all, knowing the 
fact that they are only too well founded. 
However, I am innocent of these disorders 
— I have ever forbidden them and severely 
punished them. It is you, you miserable 
Germans, who ravage your own country, 



156 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

rob your fellow-citizens, and urge on to 
despair your brethren in the faith, whom 
you have sworn to protect ! Your pres- 
ence recalls to me all vour infamies, and 
my heart is stirred with indignation. You 
horrify me ! If you were true Christians 
at all, you would strive to do your duty 
to your country and your brethren, and 
you would recall to mind what I have 
done for you. It is for you that I risk my 
life and sacrifice my ease. It is for you 
that I have depopulated my kingdom and 
emptied my coffers. I have spent for you 
immense sums of gold, and I have not re- 
ceived of you, nor of all Germany, enough 
to purchase a doublet. x\ll that God has 
given me, I have given you without re- 
serve, nor do I demand any thing of you 
in return ; for I would rather return home 
poor and naked than to enrich myself at 
your expense. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 157 

" If you murmur, if you forget God and 
honor enough to abandon me, I will sur- 
round m3^self with my Swedes and my 
Fins; we will defend ourselves to the last, 
and the whole world shall see that, as a 
Christian king, I would rather lose life 
than sully by crime the sacred work 
which God has intrusted to me. I pray 
you, in the name of divine mercy, to look 
within yourselves, to question your own 
consciences. Kemember that you must ren- 
der an account to God for your conduct, 
and that you must one day appear before 
the tribunal of that Judge who sees all 
things." 

The situation of his army was no longer 
tolerable. For a long time, the two armies 
had been in presence of each other, and 
Wallenstein remained ever within his in- 
trenchments. The losses on both sides 
were immense. The heat of dog-days in- 



158 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

creased the general distress. The corpses 
in both camps sent forth an infectious 
odor, and provisions became every day 
more rare. Deprived of food, and breath- 
ing a pestilential air, the soldiers seemed 
all condemned to perish, conquered by 
disease and famine. 

Gustavus could not impose so inglorious 
and cruel death upon so many brave men. 
On September 8, 1632, he left the territory 
of Nuremberg, leaving a garrison in the 
city sufficient to protect it from a surprise. 
He passed slowly before the Austrian 
camp, and awaited the enemy for four 
hours. But Wallenstein stirred not. Ac- 
customed to easy victories, he put off, as 
long as possible, the meeting in battle with 
that one whom he himself proclaimed to 
be tlie hravest warrior and tlie most sMll- 
ful general of the world. Himself, a man 
without principles, whose onlv God and 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 159 

law were cupidity and ambition, he made 
war as a player, who, a long time success- 
ful, fears to risk his whole fortune at a 
single throw — he was insolent to the feeble, 
but timid before the strong. 

Gustavus, despairing of bringing him 
out, directed his course toward Windsheim 
in Bavaria, in order to complete the con- 
quest of that country, and penetrate far- 
ther into Austria. Scarcely had he turned 
his back than Wallenstein broke np his 
camp, after having, according to his cus- 
tom, marked his way by the burning of 
several villages, and so manifested by this 
terrible leave-taking what barbarous de- 
signs he had had toward Nuremberg. 
Of the sixty thousand men of which his 
army was composed, he had only thirty- 
six thousand left, of whom the Bavarians 
formed a fourth part. The Swedes were 
reduced to thirty thousand, and had left 



160 GrusTAvus Adolphus. 

twenty thousand dead under the walls of 
Nuremberg. 

In order to insure the success of his 
operations in Bavaria, Gustavus Adolphus 
went to lay siege to Ingolstadt, hoping to 
repair his former check, and to take from 
Maximilian his surest asylum. Suddenly, 
he learned that Wallen stein was laying 
Saxony waste, and making it pay dearly 
for its sympathy with the Swede. At 
this news he again put aside the execution 
of his plan and flew to the succor of his 
ally. 





CHAPTEK VII. 

The Close of the Liee of Gustavus 
Adolphus. 

Eeturn of the Swedes into Saxony — Victory and Death of Gus- 
tavus Adolphus at Lutzeu — His Administration in Sweden. 

AFTER having joined his troops with 
those of Bernard de Weimar, the 
Kino; of Sweden marched ao:ainst the Duke 
of Friedland, following the route of the 
previous year, but in the opposite direc- 
tion. Twenty thousand men, experienced 
in former campaigns, were under his com- 
mand. Every-where the people were hap- 
py to see him again, and gave him a hearty 
welcome. They never ceased admiring the 
battalions in their imposing martial array, 
with Gustavus at their head, riding in the 
profoundest silence upon his large white 



162 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

steed, not distinguishing himself from the 
simple soldier, save by the long white 
plume of his small gray hat, made after 
the Swedish fashion. 

When this valiant army stopped for 
repose anywhere no disorderly conduct 
whatever was observed. Men and their 
possessions were every-where respected. 
In Franconia and Thuringia the Swedes 
prayed, morning and evening, with their 
hosts and thanked them for their hospi- 
tality. The Germans of these countries 
looked upon the soldiers as members of 
their own family, and separated from them 
in tears. 

A trifling event contributed particularly 
to add to their appreciation of the good- 
ness of the King of Sweden, and was looked 
upon as a good omen for the future. Nor 
is it forgotten among them to this day. 
As he was passing through a certain sec- 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 163 

tion of the country, the king saw a bird 
of prey pursuing a lark. Just as his atten- 
tion was attracted to the scene, the little 
persecuted bird flew down and lighted 
upon his bosom. The king smilingly took 
it, held it tenderly in his hands, and said, 
"Poor little bird, may God protect you;" 
then, when the bird of prey was flown 
away, and the lark out of danger, he set it 
free, thanking God for giving him even 
this small opportunity for saving one of 
his innocent creatures from persecution. 
In this trifling event was plainly symbol- 
ized the work which Gustavus Adolphus 
accomplished. Austria, for Protestant Ger- 
many, was a bird of prey, ready to devour 
it ; and it was into his hands that it cast 
itself, in order to recover its liberty. 

At Erfart, Gustavus found the queen, 
who was awaiting him there. She was so 
anxious to see him that she hastened out 



164 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

to meet Mm, which she did, in one of the 
public squares of the city. But their re- 
joicing could be but of short duration, for 
Wallenstein was only a little way off from 
Erfurt. 

The next day, October 28, 1632, Gus- 
tavus Adolphus called together the magis- 
trates of the city, and addressed them in 
the following words : 

"I now confide to your care that which 
I hold most precious upon earth, the queen, 
my beloved wife. You know, sirs, that 
every thing in this world is subject to vi- 
cissitudes, and above all, war, that scourge 
which God uses to chastise the perversity 
of men. Just as to any other, some mis- 
fortune may fall to my lot, perhaps death. 
If such should be the will of God concern- 
ing me, have, for my cherished wife, the 
fidelity and devotion of which you have 
ever given me the proofs." 




Gustavus taking leave of his Queen. 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 167 

As the queen burst into tears, he pressed 
her to his heart, and said to her, "Be of 
good courage, we shall see each other 
again ; if it may not be in this life, it will 
at least be, sooner or later, in the abode 
of eternal blessedness." 

He kissed her a last time, flew to his 
horse, and rejoined his troops who were 
just setting out. 

Pressing ahead of the corps which Wal- 
lenstein had sent to seize upon Naumburg, 
he entered there, November 1, 1632. The 
people were transported with joy, and vied 
with each other for the honor of first 
touching his garments. They knew not 
how, worthily, to show their gratitude to 
their protector. Several cast themselves 
at his feet. Gustavus raised them imme- 
diately, and, turning to one of the ofl&cers, 
said, with a melancholy air, " Might it not 
be said that this people believe me a God ! 



168 GusTAvus Adolphtjs. 

Our affairs are now prosperous, but I 
mucli fear lest God punish them for their 
idolatry, and prove to them, only too soon, 
that I am only a man, weak and mortal, 
even as they." 

The Austrian army arrived too late to 
take Naumburg, and camped less than a 
half-league from this city, at Weissenfels. 
Twice as numerous as the Swedes, they 
counted upon an easy victory as soon - as 
an occasion should offer. But Gustavus 
Adolj^hus , following the same tactics as at 
Nuremberg, strongly intrenched himself 
outside of Naumburg, and then awaited 
the arrival of the re-inforcements that he 
expected from Lower Saxony. 

Wallenstein again shrank from attack- 
ing the Swedish camp, convinced that it 
was impregnable. Pappenheim, not being 
able to endure inaction, asked and ob- 
tained permission to lead eleven thousand 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 169 

men to the succor of Cologne. The sep- 
aration between the two generals and their 
troops took place at Lutzen, not far from 
Leipsic, where Wallen stein intended to 
make his winter-quarters, supposing that 
the enemy would do the same at Naum- 
burg. As soon as Gustavus Adolphus was 
advised of the departure of Pappenheim, 
he said, " I believe truly, that God is giv- 
ing the enemy into my hands," and, with- 
out the loss of a moment, he set out in 
pursuit of Wallenstein, and in one day 
reached him, before Lutzen. But it was 
already night and, greatly to his regret, 
the battle had to be postponed until 
morning. 

At day-break, Gustavus Adolphus sum- 
moned his chaplain, and passed one hour 
with him in prayer. He then attended 
the regular religious services, held every 

morning, for the soldiers. It was remarked 

11 



170 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

that, contrary to ordinary custom, lie re- 
mained upon his knees during the whole 
service. He was engaged in the profound- 
est devotion. He gave orders to sing the 
celebrated battle hymn which he himself 
had composed, and which greatly warmed 
the hearts of his soldiers before the battle. 

"Notwithstanding the tumult and the 
threatening cries which resound around 
you, fear nothing, little flock. Your ene- 
mies rejoice in your destruction, but their 
joy shall be of short duration. Let not 
your courage fail you. 

" Your cause is the cause of God ! ac- 
complish your mission, place yourselves in 
the hands of God, and you shall fear no 
danger. He will find another Gideon to 
defend the people and the Word of God. 

"We hope that at the name of Jesus, 
the violence and snares of the wicked will 
turn against them. They will thus become 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 171 

an object to be despised. God is with us, 
we are with bim ; victory belongs to us." 

It was the 6th of November, 1632. A 
thick fog covered the plain on which the 
bloody struggle was to take place. Even 
the troops nearest the foe were unable 
to see them. The singing of psalms, 
now and then broken in upon by Wallen- 
stein's cannon, announcing the near attack, 
was all that could be heard. Gustavus 
Adolphus, while awaiting the rising of the 
sun, placed his army in battle-array, and 
gave the ancient word of command, " God 
is with us." He was mounted and with- 
out armor. The need of protecting his 
body from the shot of the enemy was 
pressed upon him, above all, on such a day 
as was now expected. He replied, "The 
Eternal One is my armor." He then passed 
along his lines in order to encourage his 
men. At first he addressed himself to the 



172 GusTAVus Adolphus. 

Swedes. " My dear compatriots and friends,'' 
said he, " the day has arrived on which you 
are to show what you have already learned 
in war. You have before you the enemy 
which we have so long sought, and he is 
no longer sheltered behind formidable in- 
trenchments or high mountains. He is in 
the plain which lies open before us. It is 
not willingly, nor because he is sure of 
victory, that he accepts battle to-day, you 
well know. It is because it is impossible 
longer to avoid meeting us and our arms. 
So, hold yourselves ready; conduct your- 
selves as worthy soldiers; fight valiantly 
for your God, your country, and your 
king." 

Then he passed to the left wing of the 
army, formed of the German allies, and 
said to them, " My brothers and loyal com- 
rades, I beseech you, in the name of a 
Christian conscience and of your honor, to 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 173 

do your duty to-day, as you have done 
heretofore. A year ago, and not far from 
here, you fought the old Tilly and his 
hosts. I trust that the enemy that is now 
before you will share no better fate than 
he and they. March with courage ! you 
will fight not under my orders, but with 
me and by my side. I myself will show 
you the way. I am ready to risk my life 
and to shed my blood with you. Follow 
me, have confidence in God, and bear away 
a victory whose fruits you and your pos- 
terity will gather forever. Kemember that 
if you are defeated, your religion and your 
liberty are at an end." 

The soldiers replied with shouts of joy 
and enthusiasm to the words of their chief. 
The king, far from sympathizing with their 
transports, was graver than was his wont, 
and seemed even sad. He had taken every 
measure as a man preparing to die. He 



174 GusTAVTJs Adolphus. 

had designated the duke, Bernard de 
Weimar, to take command in his place if 
he should fall during the battle. The sad- 
ness of his face was only an index of the 
solemn thoughts that agitated him within, 
and of the last regrets for the lawful affec- 
tions of earth, before yielding himself up 
to God without reserve and forever. 

Toward eleven o'clock the fog was dis- 
sipated ; the sun brilliantly illuminated the 
field of Lutzen. When the two armies 
came in sight Gustavus Adolphus once 
more inclined his head and prayed men- 
tally, with an astonishing fervor. Then 
raising his eyes toward heaven, clasping 
his hands upon the hilt of his sword, he 
cried aloud, " Jesus ! Jesus ! be thou my 
help this day, while I battle for the glory 
of thy sacred name." He then brandished 
his sword above his head and added, " For- 
ward now, in the name of the Lord ! " 



£D 1 




GusTAvus Adolphus. 177 

The king was surrounded by Francis Al- 
bert, Duke of Lauenburg, by the Marshal 
of the palace of Breitsheim, by his page, 
Leubelfingen, by several officers, and by 
two servants. 

The cannonadins: bes^an on both sides, 
and the Swedish troops threw themselves 
upon the enemy. Several bullets fell near 
the king, but did not prevent him from 
placing himself at the right wing of his 
army, by passing along the road from 
Lutzen to Leipsic, back of which were the 
Austrians. They had dug trenches from 
which they hurled a murderous fire against 
the Swedes, without being in turn exposed 
to the fire of the other army. Gustavus 
had commanded his infantry to cross these 
ditches, and as they did not advance fast 
enough to suit him, he descended from his 
horse and went with them to set them an 
example and give them a renewed ardor. 



178 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

The soldiers begged him to remount, which 
he did, and then hastened to the head of 
the cavalry. The trenches were passed. 
The left wing of the enemy were dispersed 
by the Fins, whom the king commanded in 
person. At this moment he learned that 
his infantry were giving way and he flew 
to their relief 

Schiller says, "His proud courser bears 
him like an arrow over beyond the trenches. 
But the passage is more difficult for the 
squadrons that would accompany him, and 
a few cavalry, among whom are Count 
Francis Albert, are alone sufficiently well 
mounted to keep with him. He pushes 
directly for the point where his infantry 
seem hardest assailed, and while he essays 
to find a weak point in the enemy's line to 
which he may direct his attack, his natural 
short-sightedness takes him too near the 
enemy. An imperial officer remarking that 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 



179 



the Swedes make open patli for him to 
let him pass first, shows him, by point- 
ing the finger, to a musketeer and says, 
' Put that one out of the way, for he is a 
great personage among them.' The soldier 
obeys, and his ball fractm^es the arm of the 
king. At this moment the regiment comes 
up. At the sight of his blood, and on 




GUSTAVUS "WOUNDED. 



hearing repeated cries of ^The king is 
wounded ! The king has received a shot ! ' 
the brave men are seized with fright, and 



180 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

there threatens a general panic. 'It is 
nothing ; follow me ! ' cries the king, col- 
lecting all his forces. But soon overcome 
with pain, and ready to faint, he tells the 
Duke of Lauenburg, in French, that no one 
else might comprehend him, to take him 
quietly outside of the* combat. The duke 
obeys, and in order to spare the Swedes 
the sight of their wounded king he takes 
the longest road, to the right wing of his 
army. On the wa}^ he receives another 
wound in his back, that takes from him his 
remaining strength. ^I have enough, my 
brother,' says he, in a dying voice, 'leave 
me and save your life.' Scarcely has he 
uttered these words when he falls from his 
horse, and, struck by several shots more, 
abandoned by friends, he draws his last 
breath in the hands of the Croatians. * 

* His young page, Leubelfingen, alone remained by 
the king, and was pierced iTirough by a sword, but lie 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 181 

" In an instant the Swedisli army knows 
that it is without a chief, but this frightful 
intelligence, far from diminishing its cour- 
age, raises it even to madness. Life has 
no more value to these brave legions, since 
the most glorious and most useful one 
among them all has come to his end ; death 
has no more terrors, since it has taken the 
most precious life of all." 

" Like furious lions the Upland, the Fin- 
land regiments, the Ostrogoths and the 
Visigoths, hurl themselves upon the left 
wing of the enemy and cut it in pieces. 

" At the same time, the Duke Bernard 
de Weimar, according to the wish of the 
king, takes the command of the army. . . . 
He throws himself upon the right wing of 
the enemy and soon seizes their artillery. 

lived a few days after the battle, and it was he that re- 
lated of the last moments of Gustavus Adolphus. A 
large stone was rolled to the spot on which he fell, and 
is known to this day as the Rock of the Swedes. 



182 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Nothiug can withstand tlie impetuosity of 
the Swedes." 

Wallenstein, seeing his troops giving 
way every- where without being able to 
bring them back into line, hoped no longer 
for success, and was preparing to retreat, 
when Pappenheim arrived with eight regi- 
ments to his support. The battle began 
anew. Pappenheim longing to measure 
himself with Gustavus Adolphus, and igno- 
rant of his death, swept through the con- 
fusion and threw himself upon the right 
wing of the Swedish army, but being 
immediately wounded, was forced to with- 
draw, and with him disappeared all hope 
of success for the imperials, who profiting 
by the night fled away, leaving the Swedes 
masters of the battle-field, and possessors 
of their artillery and baggage. 

Pappenheim died the day after the bat- 
tle, and Wallenstein abandoned Saxony to 



GusTAvus Adolpiius. 183 

the conquerors, who finally retook all the 
strong places occupied by the Austrians. 
He gained one unimportant victory over 
the Swedes, at Steinau, owing to their 
small force and inefficient general. After- 
ward he conspired against the emperor, 
who caused his assassination in 1634. 

The victory of Lutzen was a cause of 
more grief than joy to the Swedes. Their 
beloved king was dead. Nothing could 
compensate for this irreparable loss. The 
army wept for him as for a father, and all 
the Protestants of Europe felt that their 
most cherished hopes were buried with 
him in his grave. 

Gustavus Adolphus was scarcely forty 
years of age. What would he have done 
had he lived ? . . . Did he aspire, as some 
have pretended, to the imperial ^crown? 
and did death alone prevent him from tar- 
nishing his glory by overturning his ambi- 



184 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

tious projects? We cannot say. But his 
life was wholly exempt from all such evi- 
dence, and to his latest breath he remained 
faithful to his sacred mission. He battled 
for the Gospel and for liberty. 

God has caused the seed which his serv- 
ant watered with his blood to germinate 
and ripen. Truth is immortal, and its 
enemies even, in the hands of Providence, 
are often the instruments employed in 
promoting its eternal and inevitable tri- 
umph. Who would have thought, when 
this hero of the North fell, this most 
formidable and marked defender of the 
Reformation, that, instead of its being the 
exploits of his valiant successors, it should 
be the work of two cardinals that should 
give to Germany that religious independ- 
ence which she had sought for thirty 
years, and that should determine the fut- 
ure of European Protestantism ! When 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 185 

Gustavus Adolphus was besought to save 
his life, he replied, " God, the all-powerful, 
livesP The unexpected closing of this 
long and cruel war, the way in which was 
accomplished the work of the great King 
of Sweden, has well justified this wise re- 
ply, which many other events of history 
have confirmed, and in which it has been 
plainly seen that human combinations, 
calculations, and foresight avail but little, 
while they have shown forth more strik- 
ingly the irresistible and consoling power 
of the Master of the Universe. 

Few men have left to posterity a mem- 
ory more admirable than that of Gustavus 
Adolphus. Even his enemies can but ren- 
der him justice. "He is the greatest king 
in the world," said the Pope. Around his 
name cluster the most solid, as well as the 
most brilliant qualities. We have seen 
his profound faith, his inflexible justice, 



186 GusTAYUs Adolphus. 

his unchangeable goodness, his courage — 
sometimes a little rash — and his touching 
tenderness for his family: all the virtues 
of the man and the hero, united to a mili- 
tary genius which has been equaled but 
never surpassed. 

He completely transformed the art of 
war. According to Michelet he made war 
upon this, then new, principle, "That that 
v^hich is mio^htiest in war is not the swift- 
ness of the Turk, the tempest of cavalry, 
nor heavy coats of mail, nor even the walls 
and strong fortifications of Holland — but 
human walls; firm infantry on the plain, 
and the breasts of men." And, far from 
forming the solid square as the Spaniards, 
or placing rank against rank, which, when 
once broken, become ever more and more 
mixed and confused, he arranged his men 
in simple file with a space behind them, 
saying, " If the cavalry break your line, let 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 187 

them pass, and re-form in double-quick." 
This wonderful confidence in moral force 
had its effect. The beautiful Swedish tac- 
tics attracted the brave so powerfully that 
many left lucrative employments to take 
part in this hazardous style of war, who 
had no taste for ramparts and fortifications. 
And there was still one thing more admira- 
ble — the discipline which Gustavus Adol- 
phus introduced into his army ; it was his 
military code, a clief-d^ oeuvre of the kind, 
in which the severity of the law had the 
love of justice and the fear of God for its 
base. He said, " One may be a bold fight- 
er, but not a good soldier, without being a 
Christian." 

Gustavus Adolphus was not only a great 
general and a remarkable Christian, but 
he was also an administrator of the first 
order, and proved that he was not less capa- 
ble of directing a State than of command- 

12 



188 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

ing an army. Under his reign Sweden 
underwent several important and salutary 
reforms. While he carried on war he took 
care of his kingdom, ameliorating the 
condition of his people wherever that it 
was possible. He made a criminal code; 
he established new tribunals and watched 
carefully over the jurisprudence of his 
country. He rendered commerce prosper- 
ous by favoring the establishment of many 
industrial associations, and by drawing 
into his country skillful workmen from 
foreign countries. By wise ordinances he 
also facilitated the sale of merchandise, 
and it is to him that Sweden owes her 
first manufactories of arms and of paper, 
her tanneries, and the vocations of weaving 
wool and silk. He regulated the govern- 
ment of the provinces, and required an 
exact account of the expenses and revenues 
of the kingdom. He particularly encour- 



GusTAVus Adolphus. 189 

aged instruction in all the different classes 
of society. He assured to all professors a 
good salary, and demanded of them guar- 
anties of capability and morality. He 
purged the universities of those of whom he 
said, "They knew neither how to respect 
themselves nor to fulfill their mission." 

He gave aid to poor but intelligent 
and industrious students. He founded 
the University of Dorpat, and handsomely 
donated to that of Upsal from his family 
estate. 

He spread intellectual light among the 
people by organizing superior primary 
schools. Finally he was on the eve of 
proposing to give to Sweden a constitution 
which should bring about a much more 
liberal government, when he was snatched 
away from life and from the affections of 
his people. 

" He was of sanguine temperament," says 



190 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

Michelet, " and he sometimes had moments 
of anger, which were short and generally 
finished by a laugh. He was too rash in 
exposing himself in battle as a soldier. 
These faults excepted — the only ones with 
which he is reproached — one could have 
believed him superior to our common 
human nature." His death, however, as 
he foresaw, put him on a level with other 
men, and furnished a memorable example 
of earthly glory. 

The Fins found and took the corpse of 
their king. He was under a heap of slain, 
and so trampled by the feet of horsemen 
that it was difficult to recognize him. 
He was at first carried to the village of 
Meuchen, where it was necessary to bury 
the intestines. After that the body was 
placed in a coffin made by the teacher of 
the village school, who was also a joiner. 
A funeral service was held, at which pre- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 191 

sided this same school-master. A Swedish 
officer also pronounced a short discourse. 
The next day the mortal remains of the 
hero were taken to Weissenfels, where an 
apothecary was charged with the embalm- 
ing; he reported nine wounds upon the 
body. 

The following summer the army moved 
from Saxony toward the Baltic. Every- 
where the cortege passed the liveliest grief 
was evinced. Protestant Germany w^ould 
not now be consoled for the loss of her 
liberator. From Wolgast in Pomerania 
the army set out for Sweden, accompanied 
by the Queen Maria Eleonore, whose grief 
w^as inconsolable, and by a deputation from 
the Senate. " The sea-passage was prosper- 
ous," says a biographer of Gustavus Adol- 
phus, "and the fleet arrived, August 8, 
at Nykoeping. As it approached the 
Swedish coast the sky became covered 



192 GusTAvus Adolphus. 

with clouds, whicli soon poured out an 
abundant rain. It seemed that Sweden 
would receive the remains of the greatest 
and dearest of her sons only as clothed in 
mourning and in tears." 

Out of regard for the queen, who did 
not wish to be separated from the remains 
of her husband, and who desired to keep 
them until she could repose with him in 
the same tomb, the solemn funeral rites 
were delayed until June 21, 1634. They 
were then celebrated with all possible 
pomp, and in the midst of universal grief. 
The coffin was placed in the church of 
Ridarholm, which Gustavus Adolphus had 
himself chosen as a place of burial. A 
splendid mausoleum had been erected to 
him, which remains to this day. Upon 
seven faces of the monument are engraven 
brief sentences expressing the exploits or 
soul-qualities of Gustavus Adolphus. Be- 



GusTAvus Adolphus. 193 

neath the cross whicli surmounts it a 
pelican is represented as nourishing her 
young with her own blood. A striking 
emblem, well expressing the most salient 
trait of the Swedish hero's character, and 
furnishing, as it were, a resume of his 
whole life, which was one act of long and 
bloody devotion to the interests of others. 




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